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| Keeping Up With The Caps | |  |
Keepin’ Up with the Caps
By Coach Wayne Bryan
Mark Knowles
Career: This handsome and athletic 38 year old from the Bahamas, resides in Dallas with his model wife, Dawn, and their two young sons, Graham and Brody. He was an All American at UCLA in the early 90s, on the tour he has won over 670 matches and 51 titles, including the ‘02 Australian Open, the US Open in ‘04, and the French and the Masters Cup in ‘07. He has also been a Grand Slam Finalist seven times. He was #1 in the World in doubles in 2002 and 2004. He has been a long time member of his country’s Davis Cup and Olympic Teams. He was the Vice President of the ATP Players Council and served in the Board from 2002-’04.
With the Caps: He has been a 10 player for the Caps and has been the League MVP and #1 in Men’s Doubles and Mixed several times. He will once again serve as Captain of the team and he will play Men’s Doubles with Sam Warburg and Mixed with Rennae Stubbs. One of the most popular Caps players ever and one of the greatest doubles players of all time, he supplies great leadership for the team and wonderful cooperation with Coach Bryan, the Caps staff, fans and local media.
This Season: He and his partner, Mahesh Bhupathi of India, are currently the #3 team in the world. He won the title at Memphis, and reached the finals of the Australian Open and Barcelona, while advancing to the semis at Sydney and the Italian Open.
This Week: He won his first round doubles match at Roland Garros and along with his partner, Mahesh Bhupathi, they crushed the French tandem of Jo-Wilfried Tzonga-Josselin Ouanna, 6-3, 6-2. They eventually lost in a close three setter to Gonzalez-Acasuso in the round of 16, and he is in the quarters of the Mixed.
Sam Warburg
Career: This good looking young man from Sacramento stands 6’3”. A four year All American and #1 player at Stanford, he won the NCAA Doubles Title in 2004. On the tour he has a career high ranking of 132 in singles and 117 in doubles. Making steady progress on the tour, he won the Bronx Challenger in ‘07 and he has captured Challenger Doubles titles at Yuba City twice, Valencia twice, New Orleans, Champaign and Knoxville. In 2008, he qualified for the Australian Open and reached the second round, and he again Q’d at Miami and beat the Italian Starace.
With the Caps: Sam will be playing his fourth season with the squad and he gets better each season and he will again be playing Men’s Singles, where he is usually one of the to players in the league and he will join Mark Knowles to once again contend for the top spot in Men's Doubles. He came very close to be the League MVP two seasons ago. Sam is a great team player and always positive and he is very helpful with all the clinics and does the extras to help local tennis. He's a great role model for our local Sac Town junior tennis players.
This Season: Sam reached the quarters of Belgrade and had a sensational win over the Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, #66. He also made the quarters at Wroclaw, beating the highly regarded Columbian Alejandro Falla.
This Week: After being off for two months with a shoulder injury, Sam was back in action at the Carson Challenger. He beat Eric Nunez in the first round and lost to Michael Yani in the second.
The Night the Hammer was Sick in Delaware by Coach Wayne Bryan
JUNE 23, 2009
We were finishing up a long road trip in Delaware during my first season of coaching the Caps in 2002. On the way to the match, Brian the Hammer MacPhie was feeling sick.
"Uh oh," I thought. If he can't play, I've gotta play. I'm way, way, way past my playing days and that would be just terrible for our team and the fans in attendance. Uggghhh.
I'm sure Brian would be able to play. He's just gotta play. We can keep him out of the singles and have Knowlzie play that and the Mixed and all he has to do is just do his best in one short set of doubles.
And now MacPhie is throwing up outside the back window of the van.
Geez.
When we get to the Stadium he stayed in the locker room and didn't even go out for warm-up.
Just before the match he came up and said, "Coach, I think I can just stand out there and get through one set of doubles. I'll do my best."
"Geez. Thanks for the great effort here, Brian. I really appreciate it."
Whew.
Everything is going along fine and Brian is out there and actually playing okay in the Men's Doubles, although he is as white as a sheet. The match is nip and tuck and suddenly Knowles is getting hacked over a couple of calls. He is starting to bicker with the lineswoman, Sandy. He told me before the match that he did not like Sandy and she was always out to get him and things like that. Ugggh.
Now he and Sandy were in a pretty nasty little argument.
It went on.
I'm up and standing between them and said, "Let it go, Knowlzie. Let's just play on."
Now Mark is going kinda crazy and yelling.
Finally, Sandy looks over at me and says, "Coach, one more word and I'm throwing him out."
Which means, ol' Coach B will have to play after all. And with a very sick Brian MacPhie.
I was totally motivated to get Mark under control and back in the match and I had both my arms around him and was trying my level best to calm him down. It was not working. He was goin' nuts.
Suddenly, like an angel from above, his beautiful model wife Dawn was there in the first row and she yelled, "Mark, that's it!!! Stop it this minute and get back out there and play!! Right now!!!"
Bang!
The clouds clear. The ruckus was over. And Mark quickly and sheepishly walked back out to play and didn't say another word all night.
I looked over to the stands and mouthed the words, "Thank you, Dawn. I love you."
And for the past eight years, I've have never had to play a single match for the Caps. Thank goodness. But on that night in Delaware I was oh-so-close to going out on the court, in my advanced years, to play for the Caps. And from then on, Dawn Knowles has been the Asst. Coach of the Caps.