CNN
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When you spend every moment of every day with another person – eating, sleeping, training, competing – it’s hardly surprising that you should form a strong partnership, even less so if you’re the same person. Share NA.
For Bob and Mike Bryan, their “twin energy” was at the heart of their successes and titles. Tennis Court, a bond that only grew stronger as they traveled the world together for the best part of 23 years.
The Brian brothers, as they were known in the tennis community and beyond, announced their retirement from the sport in August 2020 as the most successful doubles team in history: 16 Grand Slam titles, 119 tour-level titles and 438 weeks. At world no. 1.
Their partnership peaked in 2012 and 2013 when, virtually unstoppable, they won Olympic gold medals and all four majors in a 12-month span.
“When everything was flowing and we were really positive, it was kind of scary – our feet were moving at the same time and we just knew where to be,” explains Mike. CNN Sport. “It was like a freight train when we got hot.”
of this year French Open The identical twins from California made it 20 years since they claimed their first Grand Slam title, although they had no idea at the time of the major breakthrough that followed.
Instead, he was focused on earning a spot in the USA Davis Cup team by impressing captain Patrick McEnroe at Roland Garros – which he duly did.
Their progress through the doubles draw of the French Open was swift and ruthless, before a nervous fit in the final saw the brothers sweep their opponents in straight sets to almost derail their path to the title. took off
“At that point, you think it’s a one-shot deal and you never know if you’re going to get there again,” says Mike, reflecting on the 2003 French Open campaign. “We were just thinking about it non-stop, it just popped into our heads.”
Fueled by adrenaline, they won the last 16 points of their final against Paul Haarhuis and Yevgeny Kafelnikov to claim a 7-6 6-3 victory, setting the stage for the success that was to come.
“We partied all night,” says Bob. “We went straight from the club to I think it was a 9am photo shoot at the Arc de Triomphe with the trophies and the photos are unusable. That’s probably why you never saw it – because we were so tired.
While some tennis players switch between singles and doubles formats, the Bryan brothers have dedicated their entire careers to doubles and have remained steadfast in their commitment to each other.
It was only after the older twin, Bob, had hip surgery in 2018 and Mike sought a different partner and won Wimbledon and the US Open with the American. Jack Sock.
“We played together every day and lived together and spent every moment together,” says Mike. “It worked on the court – we were always on the same page and acted as one entity.
“We knew we were never going to break up with each other. And that kind of gave us that confidence. You know you’re never going to turn your back on your brother and look for another partner. .
Bob agrees that singles was never on the brothers’ radar.
“We always had more fun winning doubles matches, it was probably a twin thing,” he tells CNN Sport. “But our sponsors also put bonuses into our contracts that were designed for doubles – they wanted us to go into doubles. It just came naturally to us.”
With Bob left-handed and Mike right-handed, the pair were a natural fit on the tennis court, although unlike most left-handed doubles partnerships, they played on the backhand side on the return – a switch. What they did next. of the 2003 French Open.
They were virtually inseparable during their professional careers, even sharing a bank account. Tempers boiled over at times, especially during practice when they held each other to high standards.
“We practiced every time like we were playing in a final,” says Mike. “Bob would attack me if I dropped a couple of balls and I would attack him, and we had some tough practices. We had some physical scrimmages there, but he kept the standard very high.
“We would actually only practice one day because we worked so hard. We would do 90 minutes as much as possible, but we wouldn’t even drink water. We probably only used two or three balls and just drill to drill. To drill to drill.
“By the end, we were just drenched in sweat. We practiced like it was a grand final and that definitely didn’t let me down.
Although fiercely competitive, the brothers never lost sight of their role as entertainers. The chest bump – or Brian bump, as Stanford Daily called it in his college days – was his trademark after winning a tournament or a big point.
Harnessing the crowd’s energy, running, jumping and slamming their torsos together became an act of showmanship – something they inherited from another American doubles team, Luke and Murphy Jensen.
Coincidentally, the Jensen brothers won their only Grand Slam title at the 1993 French Open, 10 years before Bryans first won.
“We started doing it at Stanford, and then we took it on tour,” says Bob Bryans of the origins of the chest bump.
“He wasn’t really welcomed on the tour in those first couple of years because these salty veterans thought it was disrespectful to them.
“Honestly, we were excited to be there and happy as professionals traveling the world, and finally, it was accepted and became our thing.”
Since retiring before the 2020 US Open, the brothers have enjoyed a slower pace of life. After spending 40 weeks of the year on tour, they now have more time with their families and can pursue another shared passion: Music.
Bob plays keyboards, Mike plays guitar and drums. Together, they have performed in bars, clubs and even Tennis tournament As part of the Bryan Brothers Band.
“Our music rooms have expanded, and my kids are playing now, so I jam with them,” says Bob.
This does not mean that tennis has disappeared from their lives. They still play Legends events at the Grand Slams as well as the occasional exhibition tournament, and Bob was recently named USA Davis Cup captain ahead of this year’s event.
But days of intense competition, grueling practice sessions and high-flying chest bumps are behind them.
“Once you retire, it’s hard to turn the car back on after you’ve turned it off,” says Bob.
“We knew we wanted to play as long as we were mentally and physically in it, and so when we retired we had no regrets.
“We both feel like we don’t have unfulfilled dreams that we wish we could have fulfilled on tour. I think we felt like we put everything we could into our careers.