The Bryans Have Really Won It All!

After claiming their 100th team title on homesoil, at the US Open, the extraordinary Bryan brothers have achieved two more major milestone this past weekend, completing their Masters 1000 collection, respectively securing the year-end No.1 for a record 10th time. 

While both are remarkable, ground-breaking performances, the Shanghai crown stands out a bit better as it basically marks the completion of a mission. A tough, extremely difficult mission, the mission to win it all. And at this point, the Bryans have literary won it all. They won all the four majors at least twice, the Olympic gold medal in London 2012, the Masters Cup, their 100th title, and now all the Masters 1000 trophies. All these in addition to setting tons of other records, which really make them the best tennis duo of all time.

In Shanghai, Bob and Mike Bryan put in quite a performance, cruising through the draw with relative ease. In the final, they defeated reigning French Open champions, Frenchmen Julien Benneteau and Eduoard Roger-Vasselin.

“To win here, it's been a long time coming to Shanghai. To finally get across the finish line as the winning team was extra special today," said Mike.

“It's another great milestone. This week was full of them for us. To come and get in the title match, have a shot at winning the tournament that's eluded us, complete the Golden Masters, is amazing,” added Bob.

“It was really the last thing left for us to do. We can definitely shut it down today and be happy guys.”

With nothing left to win, it's difficult to imagine what's next in store for the twins. One amazing thing is that they are not scarce on motivation, so it seems they will be around to dominate men's doubles for many more years to come. Well done, boys! Huge congrats!

In addition to their slew of records, the extraordinary Bryan brother wrote another page in the history book by defeating Frenchmen Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin to win in Shanghai and complete their Masters 1000 collection.

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Young Guns Pospisil & Sock Rise to Fame

Playing in just their first outing together, young guns Canadian Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock pulled off the biggest shock of the doubles tournament, going all the way to lifting the biggest title of their young career.

It was a dream fortnight for this exciting duo who stunned eighth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, second seeds Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares, and fifth seeds Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek en route to the final. In the championships match, Pospisil and Sock took out the all-time greats, Mike and Bob Bryan, after a hard-fought 7-6,6-7,6-4,3-6,7-5 victory. While Sock has won the 2011 US Open mixed doubles trophy with Melanie Oudin, this was Pospisil first title of any kind.

"I think this is the highlight of my career, for sure," said Pospisil. "These last two weeks have been amazing, to be honest, because the whole year was a struggle. Just not feeling good on the court. Then last week was my first pain-free week of the year. That was really nice. Then now to cap it off with a title at Wimbledon is not bad."

"We had a lot of fun," added Sock. "People could see that. I think that's part of why we did well. We really enjoyed being out there, enjoyed the moment. It was both of our first times on Centre Court there. As kids we grew up watching this tournament. This is what we kind of dreamed of doing. To be able to go out there and play the best doubles team of all time and to get a win was pretty incredible."
The pair will continue to play together, so I expect some more great tennis from these jubilant young guns. Best of luck, guys!

In just their first outing together, Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock stunned world No.1, the Bryan brothers, 7-6,6-7,6-4,3-6,7-5 to win the Wimbledon doubles crown.

It was a dream fortnight for the Canadian-American duo who caused a slew of upsets en route to the title.

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The Legendary Brothers

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.

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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The 2012 ATP Moods Awards

What a sensational year has 2012 been! So many amazing stories, so many great comebacks, some heart-breaking retirements, but overall an exhilarating season. It started with Novak's extraterrestrial defence in Melbourne highlighted by the epic final against Nadal. The Spaniard got his revenge though, sweeping through his favourite red dirt with victories in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and Roland Garros, straightening his credentials as the best clay-court player of all time. It was long time coming, but Federer finally collected his 17th Slams, making an emphatic return to number 1 following his stunning Wimbledon triumph. 

With Nadal sidelined by a persistent knee injury, the latter half of the season belonged to Andy Murray. The Briton claimed the Olympic gold medal in London to the delight of the host nation. He then broke the 'curse' becoming the first Briton since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a Grand Slam. In a topsy-turvy Flushing Meadows final, Andy defeated Novak Djokovic in a marathon five-setter. The Serb however stepped into the limelight at the right moment, securing the number 1 year finish with an impressive success at the ATP World Tour Championships in London.

Tennis Moods looks back at a rich 2012, recognizing the stand-out players of the year. Congrats to all the 2012 ATP Moods Awards winners!

The 'World's Greatest' Award (for the best player of the year)

Winner: Roger Federer

Runner-up: Andy Murray

The 'He Found Love' Award (for the most improved player of the year)

Winner: Andy Murray

Runner-up: Juan Monaco

The 'Homecoming' Award (for the most spectacular comeback)

Winner: Tommy Haas

Runner-up: Sam Querrey

The 'He Works Hard for the Money' Award (for the most hard-working player)

Winner: David Ferrer

Runner-up: Rafael Nadal

The 'Here I Am' Award (for the newcomer of the year)

Winner: Brian Baker

Runner-up: Jerzy Janowicz

The 'Talk That Talk' Award (for the wittiest player on the tour)

Winner: Novak Djokovic

Runner-up: Mike & Bob Bryan

The 'Broken Hearted Boy' Award (for the most disappointing player of the year)

Winner: Gael Monfils

Runner-up: Mardy Fish

The 'King of Hearts' Award (for the Tennis Moods' favourite)

Winner: Roger Federer

Runner-up: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

The 'We Miss You' Award (for the player who retired this year and will be missed the most)

Winner: Andy Roddick

Runner-up: Arnaud Clement

The 'When We Collide' Award (for the most spectacular doubles team)

Winner: Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan

Runner-up: Robert Lindstedt & Horia Tecau

The 'Fashion of His Love' Award (for the best dressed player throughout the year)

Winner: Roger Federer

Runner-up: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

The 'Imagine' Award (for the most emotional story of the year)

Winner: Roger Federer winning Wimbledon

Runner-up: Andy Murray winning the Olympic gold medal

The 'Clash of Titans' Award (for the most exhilarating duel of the year)

Winner: Novak Djokovic & Andy Murray

Runner-up: Novak Djokovic & Rafael Nadal

SEE ALSO: The 2011 ATP Moods Awards

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The Bryans' Magic Makes History

Riding on an incredible run of form that got them the Olympic gold medal, the Bryan brothers capped another magnificent season by claiming their fourth US Open title after a pretty straightforward 6-3,6-4 final win over Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek. The victory is even more important as it marks another huge milestone in men's tennis, the American twins becoming the most prolific doubles team with 12 Slams to their name. The duo was tied with Aussie legends Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodford with 11 trophies since 2011. 

The Bryans came very close to equalling the record hold by another Australian pair, John Newcombe and Tony Roche, earlier this year, but they lost the finals of both the Australian and the French Open. This time around they weren't to be denied though as they secured their place in the history book to the delight of a partisan crowd. "We looked up to the Woodies, and to steal all their records is unbelievable because we idolize those guys,'' said Mike. "They're one of the reasons we play doubles.'' "My dad gets a real kick out of the records,'' continued Bob. "He has a spreadsheet on his computer. I'm sure he's updating it right now.''

Having already won everything in their illustrious career, the American greats have no intention of stepping away from the game. "Hopefully we can snag a couple a year, one or two,'' Mike said. "We got one this year. You do the math.
Next up on their list is the Davis Cup semifinal tie with Spain. Following Nadal's withdrawal, the Bryans will be looking to bring an important point for their country.

The Bryans avenged their Australian Open final defeat to Paes and Stepanek, beating the Indian-Czech duo 6-3,6-4 to claim their fourth US Open crown and take their tally to a record 12 Grand Slam trophies.

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The New York Queen Smiles Goodbye

Playing her last tournament before retirement, Kim Clijsters entered this year's US Open as the crowd's favourite. Throughout the years, the three times champion, the Belgian mesmerised the New York audience with her irresistible smile and tenacious groundstrokes. 

Since capturing the Australian Open title in 2011 though, Kim's career has been marred with injuries and setbacks. Only this year she missed the entire claycourt season, before returning to dash away her Wimbledon and Olympic dreams. The Belgian remained positive though and cheered by a buoyant crowd she hoped to end her career in style. However, things didn't go according to plan and her singles adventure was cut short in the second round by a mega inspired Laura Robson. Robson, a Wimbledon champion at 14th, won in straight sets, two tiebreaks in which she kept mentally tough to end Kimmie's 22-match win streak at Flushing Meadows. 

Out of the singles draw, she focused on doubles, with both the women's doubles and the mixed-doubles competitions in full swing. Her doubles adventure came shortly to an end though as she and compatriot, Kristen Flipkens, were beaten by Chia-Jung Chuang and Shuai Zhang in their opener. Probably her biggest shot at glory was in the mixed, where she teamed up with American Bob Bryan. After an easy win in the first round, they run into deep troubles in the next round, being outlasted in the end by Ekaterina Makarova and Bruno Soares.

With the loss, Kim Clijsters takes her final bow, New York loses its Queen and the tennis world loses one of its finest champion. Thank you Kim for all the great memories!

Clijsters played her last singles match against shining young star, Laura Robson, who produced the best performance of her life to defeat the Belgian 7-6,7-6. The loss marks the end Kim's tremendous career.

After losing early in singles, Clijsters focused entirely on the mixed-doubles where she teamed up with American Bob Bryan. Although they were aiming at the title, they lost surprisingly early, succumbing to Ekaterina Makarova and Bruno Soares in the second round.

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The Golden Brothers

The world's greatest tennis duo, the Bryan brothers, added the only missing piece to their impressive resume by winning a long-fancied first Olympic gold medal. Bob and Mike upgraded the bronze they won in Beijing in 2008, holding off to a powerful French assault In their last two matches. After defeating Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet in the semis, the Americans overcame their compatriots, Michel Llodra and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-4,7-6 in the gold medal match.

"This is the biggest win of our career right here. It's unbelievable," said Bob Bryan. “To play on Centre Court at Wimbledon and win the gold medal is a dream come true. We could stop tomorrow and we got a big smile on our face for the rest of our lives," completed Mike. The twins dedicated the victory to their parents, Wayne and Kathy. "This one is dedicated to you guys. We love you. Mum, thanks for all the hard lessons every day for two hours. Dad, you ran the best clinics."

The beaten finalists did not dwell too much on their misfortune, both Llodra and Tsonga stating they are very proud of their achievement. "It was our dream for us to win one medal,” said Llodra. “It's second place but it's huge. Even if we lost today it's a big moment." And although Tsonga admitted he is a bit disappointed, he too was utterly happy with his achievement: "Of course we are disappointed about this final, but anyway it's something really good to get this medal. It's really something big and we will never forget this moment."

Earlier in the day, Benneteau and Gasquet beat Spaniards David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez 7-6,6-2 to claim the bronze medal, ensuring a historic performance for France, who had both teams featured on the Olympic podium.

The Bryan brothers held off to a strong French assault, beating bronze medalists Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet in the semis, before disposing of Michel Llodra and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to claim the gold medal.

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Oh, Father!

The world's leading doubles team, American twins Mike and Bob Bryan, wrote another piece of history this past weekend in Monte Carlo, claiming their 20th ATP Master 1000 crown, their third at the event. The victory was even sweeter as it was the first for father Bob, his wife Michelle giving birth to their daughter, Micaela, in the last day January, earlier this year.

Inspired by their Davis Cup success over France on the same claycourts of Monaco just a few days ago, the duo has been in cruising form throughout the week, winning the title without concealing a set. The highlight of their week must have been the commanding 6-2,6-0 triumph over Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek, a pair that had previously beaten them twice this season, in the final of the Australian Open and in the semifinals of Miami. In the final showdown, the Bryans posed another impressive display, defeating arch-rivals Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor 6-2,6-3.

With a 77-42 record in finals, 20 Masters titles and 11 Grand Slam crowns to their name, the American twins are without a doubt the most prodigious men's doubles team of all time. They will look to add to their impressive resume at next month's French Open, where their sole trophy came nine years ago, in 2003.

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And The Beat Goes On For The Bryans

Being the main force in men's doubles for the past decade now, the Bryan brothers showed no intentions of losing their credentials as they started the 2012 season in imperious form by winning the Apia International in Sydney. 

The American top seeds were in cruise control throughout the week, triumphing without losing a set in four encounters. Although it wasn't quite a walk in the park though, when the going got tough, the unbeatable duo kept composure and managed to prevail. Their first 'victim' was the newly formed team of Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer, against whom they won 7-6,6-4. The stiffest test of the tournament came in the quarterfinals, when they needed two close tie-breaks to defeat Indian Leander Paes and Czech Radek Stepanek. Into the semifinals, the Bryans produced another sharp performance, showcasing once more their doubles brilliance while obtaining an easy 6-4,6-2 victory against the British tandem of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchings. Having lost three of their four previous finals in Sydney, the 2011 runner-ups were up for a little vengeance and they set their intent straight right from the get-go. After building a commanding 5-0 first set advantage, the world number ones never looked behind, sailing to a 6-1,6-4 win over the first-time pairing of Australian Matthew Ebden and Finn Jarkko Nieminen. Nieminen was trying to complete the double, as he took the court a few hours after he defeated Frenchman Julien Benneteau for the singles trophy. However, his efforts were cut short, as he and his partner rarely looked in contention.

Having already established themselves as the best team in history with 76 career titles, a record in the Open Era, the Bryan twins are now settings their sights on successfully defending their Australian Open crown. In doing so, they will move ahead of Australians Woodforde and Woodbridge with whom they currently share the record for most Grand Slam trophies with 11 apiece.

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My French Disillusion

After the early defeats of Kim Clijsters, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki, I have put all my faith in Victoria Azarenka, who became many people's top contestant for the Suzanne Lenglen cup. As the Belorussian showed amazing form lately, winning two consecutive titles and losing just one match since Miami (i.e. to Petra Kvitova in the Madrid final), I genuinely believed this could be her year. Although she experienced some medical issues which forced her to retire from Stuttgart and Rome, she came out swinging at Roland Garros progressing to the quarterfinals without losing a set. She had played some Slam quarterfinals before, but for whatever reasons she couldn't pass this stage. Facing such a wide draw, I was really expecting Victoria to go all the way this time. Even though her opponent, Chinese Na Li, has beaten Azarenka in 3 of their 4 previous meeting, this was definitely Victoria's chance to break her habit. She failed to take it though, losing it in straight sets. Li, who is currently experiencing a surprising dream run on the French clay, looked solid throughout the match, breaking decisively in the 12th game to seal a 7-5 first set win. She recovered from an early break in the second to win it even more convincing, 6-2. Azarenka is left to meditate on yet another missed opportunity, while Li is turning a great season into an exceptional one.

Unfortunately, the series of disappointments didn't stop here. Turning to the women's doubles tournament, both my favourite duos suffered early loses. While Dulko & Pennetta's chances were hindered after the Argentinean retired from her singles match due to injury, Azarenka & Kirilenko looked set to capture a great claycourt season by winning their first Grand Slam together. Both teams lost in the quarterfinals stage, Dulko/ Pennetta to red-hot Elena Vesnina & Sania Mirza, while the latter to experienced Lisa Raymond & Liezel Huber. After their great performances, I would have liked the hot duo to get a much deserved Slam. They should fancy their chances at next week's Wimbledon, where they can finally fulfil their dream. This defeat makes Azarenka my biggest disillusion of this year's French Open. She started the week with such great odds both in singles and doubles, but she failed lamentably.

The men's doubles tournament added up to the disillusion, as the top seeds Mike and Bob Mike suffered a shock semifinal defeat at the hands of Colombian Juan Sebastian Cabal and Argentinean Eduardo Schwank. After a tight first set which was won 7-6 by the South American duo, the Bryans looked to have regained control storming to a double break 3-0 second set lead. It all came tumbling down though when the Americans lost focused, allowing their opponents to take 6 consecutive games. It marks a rather disappointing end to what has been an excellent claycourt season for the Bryan twins.

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Doubles Dismay

The beginning of this year has been a topsy-turvy ride for the best doubles teams. It's true that both Pennetta/ Dulko and the Bryan brothers confirmed their supremacy when it most mattered by winning the first Grand Slam title of 2011, but, except for that, they both faded badly.

Let's take a look at Flavia Pennetta and Gisela Dulko first. They are the current co-number 1s and they seem by far the strongest team on the tour. In the last 12 months, they are the pair that won most titles, and they do own two of the most important ones, i.e. WTA Doubles Championships and the Australian Open. However, by one reason or another, except for their performance in Melbourne, their season has been catastrophic. A shock first round exit in Sydney, a second round defeat in Indian Wells and, just a couple of days ago, a quarterfinal loss in Miami where they were the defending champions. Are the poor results due to a lack of motivation or is the duo starting to lose its main strength, namely its dynamic? I really hope the explanation does not lie in the latter factor, as I really like this team and I want to see it do great. Penneta is amid my favourite players and her partnership with the Argentinean fills in a gap in women's doubles. Since Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova retired in early 2000s, the doubles tour was kinda dull. No team was able to really hit it big with the crowds. Therefore, by brings in some much needed excitement, Dulko & Pennetta are stepping in the Hingis/ Kournikova footsteps and they are becoming an instant fan's mania. If we do not count the Williams sisters, I think they provide the best example of synergy  And it's even more than this. The magnetism is present, the bond is powerful, the funny and enjoyable part is also there, plus they are both young and sexy. Their future looks bright. If they manage to make full advantage of their advantage, this duo can really rule the world.

Moving on to the top males contestants, the Bryan brothers seem to follow a similar pattern. They are co-ranked no.1 and they won basically the most important titles since last summer, i.e. the US Open, ATP Doubles Championships and the Australian Open. However, in the rest of the tournaments they've entered this year, their results failed to impress. They've started 2011 strongly by making the final in Sydney, where they were beaten by Lukas Dlouhy / Paul Hanley, and then they've captured the Melbourne trophy in impressive fashion by defeating Bhupathi/ Paes in the last act. However, ever since, they've suffered a first round loss in Acapulco, to Travis Parrot / Filip Polasek, and two second round defeats in Indian Wells, to eventual champions Dolgopolov/ Malisse and in Miami, to Marach/ Tipsarevic. Even so, I do not worry that much about the American twins as they proved they are capable of bouncing back, especially in the most important moments. It would be great if they could show more consistency, but I strongly feel they are the dominant force in males' doubles. If they can replicate their previous two seasons, they will probably retain their position atop of the rankings for a long period of time.

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