Paris Olympics: Red clay no excuse for American men
United States team captain Bob Bryan believes that the men in his charge for the Olympics are prepared to push for medals.
He doesn’t feel that playing the tournament on red clay offers them any excuses.
Bryan believes all the top American men have enough experience on clay to adapt and show their best at the Paris Olympics.
“As a captain of the team, I’m only focused on getting the guys ready to do their best and to try to perform for the U.S. and try to win a medal,” Bryan told Tennis.com.
“Obviously, we know it’s challenging. It’s red clay. We’ve got a couple of Californians on the team. I grew up on the hard courts there. I never played on clay until I was in the pros. So obviously I know it’s not maybe everyone’s favorite surface but our guys are dangerous on anything. They’re experienced. They’re not young guys anymore.
“They’ve done the clay-court seasons many times over. They’ve had huge wins over many, many top players, so it’s all about putting it together at the right time. I think it’s going to be a magical atmosphere that’s going to bring out special performances in players.
“I think you’re either going to rise to the occasion or you might crumble under the pressure. All our guys are gamers.”
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Bryan experienced the Olympics as a player and felt that the best advice he could have for the men on court this time around is just to soak it all up and take every experience as it comes.
“I would just say enjoy it, soak it up. That first time in Athens, I think Mike and I were crippled by the weight of expectations. And we left there devastated. We didn’t really soak up the experience as much as we could have. We had blinders on. I would say take the blinders off and meet all the other athletes,” Bryan advised.
“Hear their stories and do the pin trading, which is a really fun part of the Games.
“I think these players are going to remember this experience for the rest of their lives. I would say 95% of athletes aren’t there to win a medal.
“They are just so pumped to be there so it’s a very joyful environment. I know a lot of the guys want to stay in the village and just really, relish the whole experience.”
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