"I don't know if it's good or bad. I like to see my fellow Americans doing well in the tournament,'' said Bryan, who lost in the men's doubles quarterfinals with twin brother Mike. "And it's kind of cool if you're the last one standing and carrying the flag.''
First, Bryan and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus beat Vladimira Uhlirova of the Czech Republic and Mariusz Fyrstenberg of Poland 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Then, after a break of about 2 1/2 hours filled with card playing, the third-seeded duo of Bryan and Azarenka went out and eliminated Liezel Huber of the United States and Jamie Murray of Britain 6-0, 7-6 (5) in the quarterfinals.
"For me, mixed doubles is just an opportunity to get back on the court and try to wash away the doubles loss,'' Bryan said. "It always feels nice to get back out there.''
The loss to Bryan-Azarenka was also Huber's second match of the day - and second setback. She and Cara Black of Zimbabwe, the top-seeded women's doubles pairing, were upset by No. 10 Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain 6-4, 7-6 (2).
Azarenka, who reached the fourth round of the women's singles tournament, and Bryan will face No. 2-seeded Kveta Peschke and Pavel Vizner of the Czech Republic in the mixed doubles semifinals.
"She gives me tips on the girls. And I give her tips on the guys,'' Bryan said. "And we just try to smile and not take it too seriously and just go for it. That's the biggest thing.''
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IT'S FAN-TASTIC: French Open semifinalist Gael Monfils is an NBA fan.
When someone likened the 21-year-old Frenchman's upcoming showdown against Roger Federer to a soccer match between France and Brazil, Monfils suggested a different comparison.
"I would say instead it's like Lakers vs. Boston,'' he said. "It's going to be a big match - probably the most important match in my career so far - but it's not Game 7 yet.''
Monfils, the first French semifinalist at Roland Garros since Sebastien Grosjean in 2001, wore a blue-and-gold jersey with the No. 86 to his news conference Wednesday after upsetting No. 5-seeded David Ferrer 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
It looked like a Michigan Wolverines college football jersey, but Monfils said the only significance was the number.
"That's the year I was born,'' pointed out Monfils, who wore a Miami Hurricanes jersey after his previous victory.
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BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING: Two-time major champion Marat Safin lost in the second round at the French Open. He's still keeping tabs on the tournament, though, watching his younger sister Dinara Safina reach the semifinals.
After erasing a match point and coming back to beat No. 7 Elena Dementieva 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-0 in the quarterfinals Wednesday, Safina received a text message from Big Brother, telling her: "Well done.''
On the day she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal, she recalled watching on television as Marat beat Roger Federer in the 2005 Australian Open semifinals before winning that title.
She was traveling from Moscow to Monaco that day and watched the end of the match at the airport before boarding her flight.
And if she saw a tape of that match nowadays?
"I would cry,'' Safina said, "because it was just an amazing match and beautiful to watch.''
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Associated Press Writer Trung Latieule contributed to this report.
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