For over 40 years, the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships has brought some of the world's elite tennis players to the Memphis area. Wednesday night that tradition continues when two Memphis Tigers will get their shot at the Bryan brothers, the world's top-ranked doubles duo.
Memphis seniors David O'Hare and Joe Salisbury are slotted third in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association doubles rankings, but the pair of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan is sure to be unlike anything the two Tigers have seen on the collegiate circuit.
"It's a great opportunity for our guys," Tigers head coach Paul Goebel said in a press release. "That match on Wednesday night is going to be fun. The Bryan brothers are the best-ever to play doubles and are fun to watch."
The Bryans have dominated the last decade of doubles tennis, holding an all-time record of 93 doubles titles, including 15 doubles grand slam titles. They have won the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships in Memphis three times in their careers, including the 2013 title.
While O'Hare and Salisbury may have the highest-profile matchup, they're not the only Tigers playing in the event.
Seven total Memphis players are competing in the tournament, including Connor Glennon, Johnny Grimal, Cedric De Zutter, David O'Leary and Ian Chadwell.
Glennon, Grimal and Salisbury were the only Tigers to win their individual first round matches in the qualifying draw, but each dropped their second round contests.
"This whole tournament has been a great experience for our whole team," Goebel said. "It was good to see our guys looking so comfortable out there."
As for the Tigers in collegiate competition, they've gotten off to a solid start to the 2014 season. They're currently ranked No. 18 in the nation and sport a 3-1 record with the lone loss coming in Starkville to then-No. 13 Mississippi State.
Memphis defeated then-No. 18 South Carolina in the first game of the season. The two most recent victories have come in dominating fashion with 7-0 wins over UT-Chattanooga and Murray State.
Salisbury and O'Hare will face the Bryan brothers at the Racquet Club of Memphis at 7 p.m. They return to collegiate play, travelling to Nashville for an in-state showdown against the No. 20 Vanderbilt Commodores.
The Commodores hold a 6-1 record on the year with wins against two top-30 programs in Northwestern and LSU, but they were stomped 4-0 by No. 10 Texas.
