The world's most popular doubles team wrote history once more at this year's Australian Open, as they cruised past the Dutch pairing of Robin Haase and Igor Sjisling to collect a record-breaking 13th Grand Slam title. The Bryan brothers now stand alone as the most prolific doubles team of all time, breaking their previous record, one they shared with Aussies John Newcombe and Tony Roche.
Asked to comment on the team's amazing results, Mike said: "We never really think we're that good. We've put our head down every day. We just don't let each other slack off. If one guy is playing a little worse, the other guy is on him. We just don't let our level drop. We just let [the media] talk about how good we are. We don't really go, ‘We're amazing.’ We don't go home and talk about our records. It's fun to look at our trophies once in a while, but we're always just trying to push the bar a little higher and get better. To be a part of history is pretty special. We weren't thinking about it much out there, but now that we have it, it's going to be fun to look back on our career and say we have the most Grand Slams."
Although they've won every Grand Slam at least once, the twins have always felt most comfortable Down Under where they contested nine of the last ten finals and won sixth crown. Talking about their special connection with the 'Happy' Slam, Mike said: "I think we're so successful at this tournament because we spent the offseason mainly in the same spot working toward the new year. We come into these tournaments with momentum."
After finishing at number 1 for seven of the last eight seasons, no one can argue the Bryans are probably the most dominant force in men's doubles of all time. In 2012 they achieved their biggest dream by winning the Olympic gold medal in London, and they immediately announced they plan to defend it in Rio in 2016. So, although they've won basically everything, it seems they have no plans of hanging up their racquets just yet. According to Bob: "As far as records, there's not much left to achieve. But like we've told you before, we're competitors. We hate to lose. We want to finish No. 1." And judging by the perfect start to the 2013 seasons, i.e. they've lifted titles in Sydney and Melbourne, the Americans show no signs of giving up their position anytime soon.
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| The Bryan brothers became the most prodigious doubles team of all time, winning their 13th Grand Slam title after defeating Dutch duo, Robin Haase and Igor Sjisling in the Australian Open final. |
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