PARIS (AP)—American Bob Bryan tries not to take mixed doubles too seriously. Still, he’d rather win, and that’s what he and Belarusian Victoria Azarenka are doing at the French Open.
They advanced to Friday’s final, splitting sets and then winning a super tiebreaker to beat second-seeded Kveta Peschke and Pavel Vizner 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.
“Any Grand Slam title is something special,” Bryan said. “To leave Paris with the win would be awesome.”
Bryan is bidding for his ninth major doubles title. He and twin brother Mike have won five men’s titles, and Bob has won three mixed titles.
The Bryans lost this week in the quarterfinals of men’s doubles, but Bob’s on a roll with Azarenka. Seeded third, they’ll play top-seeded Nenad Zimonjic and Katarina Srebotnik in the final.
“We’re going to have to play our best stuff,” Bryan said. “Nenad Zimonjic is very intimidating because he’s a big server, and Srebotnik is a great athlete and can do everything.”
Bryan and Azarenka won the final three points to pull out the semifinal victory in the tiebreaker.
“They probably saw the finish line there,” Bryan said. “But we just kept plugging away.”
At 8-8, Bryan hit a forehand winner, and on match point, Vizner hit a volley long.
Zimonjic and Srebotnik advanced in a walkover against Mahesh Bhupathi and Zheng Jie. Bhupathi was unable to play because of a left calf injury.
In the final of women’s doubles Friday, Casey Dellacqua and Francesca Schiavone will play Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual. The final of men’s doubles is Saturday, when Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor will play Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna.
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