Twin brothers Robert Charles Bryan (Bob) and Michael Carl Bryan
(Mike) are American professional tennis double players. They are the
2012 Gold Medalists in the London Summer Olympics for Men's Doubles.
They have been the World No. 1
doubles players for over 297 weeks (as of July 4, 2012), which is
longer than anyone else in doubles history. Also, they have finished the
ATP year-end number 1 doubles team a record 7 times. Between 2005 and
2006, they set an Open Era record by competing in seven consecutive
men's doubles Grand Slam finals, three of which they won. On August 11, 2011, they recorded their Open Era record 700th match win by defeating Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco in the second round of the 2011 Rogers Cup.
Born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being older by two minutes, and Bob taller by 3 cm, The Bryans, as they are known, have won a record 78 tour titles surpassing The Woodies,
and have been finalists on 44 other occasions. They have a career Grand
Slam that includes victories at the French Open (2003), US Open (2005, 2008 and 2010), Australian Open (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011), and Wimbledon (2006, 2011). They won the Tennis Masters Cup doubles tournament three times (2003, 2004 and 2009). They won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They also won the 2007 Davis Cup along with Andy Roddick and James Blake. The Bryan Brothers were named ATP Team of the Decade for 2000–2009.
The twins are part of the United States Davis Cup team, with a 18–2 record in doubles matches. Their two losses were to Croatia's Ivan Ljubičić and Mario Ančić and, in 2008, to France's Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra. Both brothers have played Davis Cup singles matches (Bob is 4–2 and Mike is 0–1).The brothers, who both use single-handed backhands, are noted for their attacking style of play and great hustle. They are also well known for celebrating winning points by chest bumping each other. Mike and Bob are featured on the cover of the January/February 2010 issue of Making Music Magazine where there is an article about their experiences and passion for recreational music.
Though famous for their tennis and their music, they are also dedicated to helping children in need through their foundation, The Bryan Bros. Foundation.
2012
The Bryans started 2012 by participating at the 2012 Apia International Sydney where they reached the final. They went on to win the final by defeating wild cards Matthew Ebden and Jarkko Nieminen to claim their second title in Sydney and their 76th overall without dropping a set. The brothers then aimed to win their sixth Australian Open and reached their eighth final at the event after three consecutive three-setters which included saving a match point and overcoming a 2–5 deficit in the final set tie-break in an epic semi-final against Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecău. However, the Bryans played Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek in the final and were upset in straight sets.
They were forced to withdraw from Indian Wells at the quarter-final stage with illness and were beaten in Miami
at the semi-final stage by Paes and Stepanek for the second time in
2012. They skipped Houston despite being the defending champions and
instead secured a doubles rubber point in the USA-France Davis Cup tie
at Monte-Carlo by defeating Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra. They then went on to win their 20th Masters 1000 title and 77th title overall at Monte Carlo without dropping a set. They had thrashed Paes and Stepanek in the quarter-finals and comfortably beaten Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor in the final. However, their momentum was halted at the 2012 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell where they once again withdrew during the tournament with illness. They took to the new blue clay of the Madrid Masters as the defending champions but lost early. Their next tournament was the Rome Masters, where they lost in the quarter-finals. Keen to regain some momentum, the Bryans played the 2012 Open de Nice Côte d’Azur – Doubles tournament which they won for the first time by beating Oliver Marach and Filip Polasek in the final. It was their 78th title and third of the year. They then enjoyed a good run at the 2012 French Open before losing in the final to Mirnyi and Nestor.They immediately found form on the grass, reaching the final at the Queen's Club. However, they failed to defend their title and were beaten again by Mirnyi and Nestor. They reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon but, after a close match, were defeated in a tiebreak by eventual first-time wildcard titlists Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen.
2012 Olympics
They returned to Wimbledon for the Summer Olympics Tennis Tournament.
They beat Bellucci/Sa of Brazil 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 in the first round,
Davydenko/Youzhny of Russia 7-6, 7-6 in the second round, Erlich/Ram of
Israel 7-6, 7-6 in the quarter-finals and Benneteau/Gasquet of France
6-4, 6-4 in the semi-finals. They then entered the Gold Medal Match
assured of at least a silver medal, but they topped Llodra/Tsonga of
France 6-4, 7-6 to win the Olympic Gold Medal on August 4, 2012. It was a
double gold day for the United States since Serena Williams took the
Olympic Gold Medal in Women's Singles.This completed the career Golden Slam in Mens Doubles for the Bryan Brothers having won the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open and the Olympic Gold Meal.
This also tied them with Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver at having 79 doubles titles.
Personal life
In their early days as junior players, they were forbidden to play each other in tournament play by their parents. If they were to play each other in a tournament, they would alternate defaulting to each other.
The brothers graduated from Rio Mesa High School in Oxnard in 1996 and attended Stanford University
(1996–98). In 1998, Bob became the first player since Alex O'Brien in
1992 to win college's 'Triple Crown' of NCAA singles, doubles (with
Mike) and team titles. Both Bob and Mike are members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.The Bryans have a penchant for music, forming a band of their own, with Mike playing on the drums (and occasionally guitar), Bob on the keyboard, and father Wayne on the guitar. Fellow tennis players and friends Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish and Jan-Michael Gambill often join in. The band has played at several special events, including the ATP Tour Smash Tennis event at New York's Central Park before the 1995 US Open. The Bryan brothers were featured on the Jan/Feb 2010 cover of Making Music Magazine.
In December 2010, Bob married Florida attorney and longtime family friend Michelle Alvarez. They now reside in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.
