Bryan Twins Win Midnight Marathon MELBOURNE, Australia - Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States outlasted Marcin Matkowski and Mariusz Fyrstenberg of Poland in a three-set marathon, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4, to gain the semifinals of the Australian Open. The top-seeded Americans survived what became a tense struggle of spectacular shotmaking and remarkably few unforced errors. "We kind of wanted that second set a little too much," said Mike Bryan, "we were looking at the clock, we wanted to get out of there, we were tired." He praised his opponents as long-time worthy adversaries who "play like us." In the end, said Bob Bryan, the brothers won because they relaxed and "played a little bit more reckless." Bob Bryan said the brothers had been offered the chance to play their match earlier on an outside court but declined, convinced that they play better "in the big house" before a large audience. The Americans held two break points at 4-4 in the final set. Mike Bryan's forehand service return to Matkowski's feet won the game and sent the Americans on the final steps to victory after nearly two hours. This match was not expected to be a pushover for either team. While the Bryans hold five Australian Open crowns, their opponents surged last year, gaining the finals of the U.S. Open in September and the ATP World Doubles Championship in November. Still, Fiyrstenberg and Matkowski had lost in straight sets to the Bryans in five of their last six meetings, winning only in Shanghai in October. The teams took the Rod Laver Arena court shortly after midnight as a near-capacity crowd of about 13,000 began to dwindle to perhaps 4,000. Fortunately, the players moved quickly for much of the match. To start it, Mike Bryan won his first serving game in one minute. Fyrstenberg won his in three minutes. Eleven minutes into the match, the Bryans, bouncing and bounding, had scored their first service break and led 3-1. But the Poles broke back immediately and the struggle began to slow down. In one of the most spectacular early points, the Bryans won a 7-shot shootout at point-blank range. Their final shot clipped the net and flew over their opponents" heads, landing well inside the baseline. Moments later, the Poles won a similar shootout of four shots, ending with Fyrstenberg clubbing a forehand crosscourt beyond a lunging Mike Bryan. With 68 minutes elapsed, the Americans took a 6-5 lead in the second set, jogging to their seats for a changeover they knew could end in victory if they could secure a final service break of their opponents. But then Fyrstenberg won his serve easily and forced the set into a tiebreaker. On the first point, Bob Bryan muffed an easy forehand volley, creating a minibreak. The twins broke back on the next point when Matkowski sailed a forehand wide. A seesaw struggle began, both teams holding serve until Fyrstenberg cut off a return and punched it between the Americans, then took a forehand volley and rammed it down the line to achieve a set point, which the Americans yielded. As the clock approached 2 a.m., the Bryans won another spectacular shootout in which both teams hit their shots at sharper and sharper angles, Fyrstenberg finally blocking a forehand wide. One remarkable statistic:. The Bryans hit only three unforced errors in the entire match. The Poles hit 16 unforced errors over the same stretch but 51 winning shots. The Bryans settled for 38 winners and a trip to the next round.