U.S. Open Diary: Day One

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BOB: We took the 30-minute ride from the Intercontinental Hotel in Manhattan over to Flushing Meadows, site of the U.S. Open. In the past four years the site of the Open has changed and improved so much. The grounds now are comprised of the 23,000-seat Arthur Ashe stadium, the 10,000-seat Louis Armstrong stadium, the grandstand court and some 17 other courts with various size seating capacity. In addition, the grounds are spacious and well landscaped and the crowds are astounding.

MIKE: We got our credentials and went into the players lounge which has the large inscription from the Frank Sinatra song New York, New York: "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere." We got some extra water from the locker room and headed out to the Davis Cup court, Court #4. I love practicing on this court because it's close to the player's lounge and it's one of the perks of being on the Davis Cup team.

BOB: Today we practiced with our pals Mahesh Bhupathi, from India and Martin Damm, from the Czech Republic. We had a good workout, winning the tiebreakers we played against this tough but friendly tandem. After the usual autographs and pictures we went up to the players lounge and had lunch with our coach and met up again with our dad, who we hadn't seen for a week. It's always fun when players come by and say hello. The player's lounge and dining facilities are spacious and luxurious. I always joke with my brother that the first few days of any grand slam is the "meat market."

MIKE: There are always lots of players, men and women, and the usual coaches, agents, trainers, friends and family hanging around. The guys and women are always happy to see each other and get along well. I don't want to seem sexist but some of the women don't seem to get along as well together as the guys do. I'm not sure why. Please don't write me letters on that comment! As we were eating, Corina Morariu, who is dating our pal and former UCLA star, Justin Gimelstob, came up to us and put her arms around us and said, "ok guys which one of you is playing mixed doubles with me!" We both laughed and of course said "me!" My dad piped in and started teasing Corina about whether her #14 ranking was high enough. When Corina said she plays the forehand side, I said, "well, it's you and me kid because I play the backhand side." I'm psyched to play mixed doubles with her.

BOB: After lunch we headed back to the hotel. That evening, at 7:30 all 45 of the top doubles players in the world met in the Park Avenue meeting room to discuss the proposed doubles changes that the ATP is considering.

MIKE: All the players are very upset by a few tournament directors pushing to have doubles matches shortened with no ad scoring and shorter sets. We met twice with the players in Cincinnati because we all feel that something has to be done. At Cincy, they were selling t-shirts with "Doubles Yes" on the front and "ATP No" on the back. Several coaches, players and agents were also in the room—including famed agent Pat Jensen and Tennis Channel founder and tournament director Steve Bellamy. I won't go into the discussions at this time but look for an important announcement at 10am on Friday at the U.S. Open media room.


Mike and Bob Bryan are 27-year-old identical twins who have been the #1 doubles team in the world for most of the past year. They have won 24 career titles including the 2003 French Open and they are the doubles team for the U.S. Davis Cup squad. The twins are filing daily reports from the U.S. Open for TIME.com.