UVa duo falls to Bryans in D.C.

When the first game of Wednesday night's featured match between the University of Virginia's Michael Shabaz and Drew Courtney and doubles legends Bob and Mike Bryan took just over 90 seconds to complete, a collective murmur could be heard on the stadium court at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. You could almost hear fans saying to themselves, "The college boys are no match for these pros."

Then came the second game of the set. It went like this: Courtney ace, Courtney ace, Courtney service winner, Shabaz slam at the net.

The game lasted just under two minutes.

In the end, the Bryan brothers -the No. 2-ranked doubles team in the world -got the best of Shabaz and Courtney -but the 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 first-round win was no walk in the park.

"They held their own against the greatest doubles team to ever play the game," said Virginia coach Brian Boland. "I'm proud of their effort. "They were only a couple of points here and there away from a different outcome. It was very impressive." There was just one service break in the match. That came when Shabaz was broken on a deuce point (there was no ad scoring) in the third game of the second set.

"Since it was a night match, it was a little tougher to return, so all four of us came out serving big," Shabaz said. "The first few games went by fast and then it got interesting as it went on. They played the bigger points better and deserved to win."

In the first set, Shabaz and Courtney each blasted serves in excess of over 130 mph. Courtney had the fastest of the night, clocking one ace at 134.

In the tiebreaker, Shabaz and Courtney battled back from a 6-2 deficit to tie things up at 6 before the Bryans reeled off two points to take the set.

"The crowd was electric," Shabaz said. "There were obviously a lot of Virginia fans. I don't think we could have asked for anything more. I think we put on a pretty good show and had a blast.

"We were very happy with our performance, and I think we took away some great experience from it."

Shabaz and Courtney, who both hail from Northern Virginia, had a number of family and friends in attendance.
Courtney admitted he had some initial butterflies.

"Coming out of the tunnel, I'm not going to lie -I was pretty nervous," said the Virginia junior. "There were so many hometown fans and a lot of people who have seen me play be fore.

"It was an amazing experience."

The match marked the first time that the Bryans, the 1998 NCAA champions, played another NCAA champion. Shabaz and Courtney won this past spring's title and earned a wild card to the Legg Mason.

On the court, following the match, the Bryans were complimentary of Shabaz and Courtney.

"We remember what [winning an NCAA title] meant to us and know how tough that is to do," Bob Bryan said.

"We have nothing but respect for them."

Boland, who watched from court-side bleachers with his wife, Becky, couldn't have been more pleased.

"I'm so proud of them," he said. "I think this was a great experience for both of them and is only going to help them as they move forward.

"Certainly, I think it's a great motivation for them in realizing they can play at the highest level. I'm really looking forward to the remainder of their summer and their upcoming season because they really showed well and held their own tonight."

Certainly, Shabaz and Courtney made a strong case for earning a wild card entry into the U.S.
Open later this month.

"I think this helps us a lot," Courtney said.
"Coming out and playing the best doubles team in the history is obviously a great experience. I thought Shabaz and I played well.

"I thought we could have returned a little better, but as he said, being at night it was a little tougher."