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The U.S. won its 32nd Davis Cup title yesterday as the Bryan brothers defeated Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko and Igor Andreev in straight sets 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-2 at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.
The Bryan twins finished the job in style after Andy Roddick beat Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 and James Blake got past Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-3) in the first day of the Davis Cup finals to put the U.S. 2-0 in front. The United States are now 3-0 up in the best-of-five competition.
"It's difficult to explain how we feel right now," said Mike Bryan. "We will remember this for the rest of our lives."
The U.S. last won the Davis Cup title in 1995 with a team led by Pete Sampras.Then their opponents were also the Russians.
As expected, the experienced Bryan pair was far better then what Russia has picked to play: Davydenko - the team's top player left off the singles roster - and Andreev, whose best surface is clay.
The sold-out arena packed with 13,000 delirious fans erupted with joy as the referee said the magic words “Game, Set and Match” and fireworks plus red, silver and blue confetti completed a perfect night for American tennis lovers. The Bryans, Roddick and Blake then took a victory lap around the court holding a giant U.S. flag.
At the age 29, Mike and Bob Bryan have reached the peak of their career. They have won all four Grand Slam doubles titles, and by winning tonight they accomplished the one remaining title that really means something to them, , the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas.
Sunday's insignificant reverse singles matches will be played in a shortened format over the best of three sets.
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