NEW YORK — For identical twins, the 23-year-old Bryan brothers of Stanford University started the U.S. Open in quite opposite fashion, even though the outcome for both turned out to be, well, identical.
First, Bob Bryan gave fits to sixth-seeded Patrick Rafter before surrendering to the two-time Open champion 7-6 (3), 6-3, 7-5.
Then Mike Bryan, a wild-card qualifier, faced second-seeded Andre Agassi, who has lost just two of 21 night matches in this tournament and owns seven Grand Slam titles, seven more than the Bryan brothers. Agassi's victory was a much more comfortable 6-4, 6-1, 6-0.
The victories by Rafter and Agassi headlined some solid tennis Monday by former champions, interrupted by two hours of rain on a hot and humid day at the National Tennis Center.
The other first-round winners included top-seeded Martina Hingis, still No. 1 even though she hasn't won a Grand Slam tournament in over two years, Lindsay Davenport, Marat Safin and Monica Seles.
Hingis dispatched two-time NCAA champion Laura Granville 6-2, 6-0 in 46 minutes. Davenport needed two minutes less than that for a 6-2, 6-3 win over Andrea Glass. Defending champion Safin ousted Sebastien De Chaunac 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 and Seles, winner of this event in 1991 and 1992, eliminated Nicole Pratt 6-1, 6-2.
Serena Williams, seeded No. 10, dropped the first set before recovering to defeat Anca Barna 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Tuesday's schedule includes two other former champions, Pete Sampras and Venus Williams in the day session and two of the best players lately on the tour, Jennifer Capriati and Andy Roddick, at night. Sampras faces Julien Boutter, and Williams goes against Lenka Dihopolcova. Capriati, winner of two Grand Slams this season, plays Amanda Hopmans, and Roddick, equipped with a 130-mph serve, faces Slava Dosedel.
The Bryan brothers' Open adventure began with Bob trading shot for shot with Rafter, who washed out in the first round of the last two Opens after winning in 1997 and 1998.
Now the Bryans go into the Open doubles competition, where the twins are seeded eighth. They have won titles at Memphis, Queens Club, Newport and Los Angeles this season and the good news for them is that Rafter and Agassi don't play doubles.