He Has Doubles Trouble With Brother, Martina

WIMBLEDON, England —  Mike Bryan was hit with two heavy doses of disappointment Saturday at Wimbledon. First, there was a stunning loss in the men’s doubles final with his twin, Bob, and then hours later, a close call and exit in the mixed doubles quarterfinals with a legendary partner, 48-year-old Martina Navratilova.

Fourth-seeded Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of South Africa defeated No. 5 Bryan and Navratilova, 3-6, 6-4, 9-7.

“That definitely was the stake through the heart,” Bryan said. “Just finished me off. I don’t even have words.”

The second-seeded Bryans, of Camarillo, had been the heavy favorites against qualifiers Stephen Huss of Australia and Wesley Moodie of South Africa.

Yet they didn’t allow a break point and defeated the Bryans, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3, becoming the first qualifiers at Wimbledon to win the doubles. For the Bryans, it is their third consecutive loss in a Grand Slam final in 2005 and their first appearance in the Wimbledon final.

“It wasn’t a good day,” Mike said. “This is the one we want to win, and on paper, Huss-Moodie was the best thing you can have in the finals of Wimbledon. They played like a team possessed. They were just happy to get in the tournament.

“Once they started rolling, every team that played them felt pressure, and we felt pressure.”

Huss, 29, had considered quitting tennis at the end of this year. Asked if it all felt like a dream, he said: “I know it’s real with all the feelings that I’m having. I know it’s not a dream.”

Beyond his immediate disappointment, Mike Bryan spoke about a future concern. The ATP tour will be altering the doubles rules at selected events after the U.S. Open, featuring sets going to five games, not six, a tiebreaker at 4-4, and games won with one point after deuce, removing the advantage.

“We hate them, a lot of the doubles guys hate them,” Bryan said of the changes. “Actually 99% of the guys I’ve talked to think it’s going to be bad for doubles, bad for the fans. People are going to lose a lot of respect for doubles.”

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Slammed

The record of Bob and Mike Bryan in the men’s doubles finals of this year’s grand slam tournaments:

* Australian Open -- lost to Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett, 6-4, 6-4.

* French Open -- lost to Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.

* Wimbledon -- lost to Stephen Huss and Wesley Moodie, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3.