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The Bryans’ 58th team title moved them ahead of Americans Peter Fleming-John McEnroe and South Africans Bob Hewitt-Frew McMillan, with each of those pairs winning 57 titles, and placed them just three back of Australians Todd Woodbridge-Mark Woodforde’s record mark.

“It’s pretty cool to be on our own,” said Mike Bryan. “I’m sure they’re not going to get any easier.  You feel a little more extra pressure because everyone’s talking about it, we’re even thinking about it now.  We’re in this final, we see this on paper, it’s a pretty good matchup for us ranking-wise, it’s just a good shot at a title.  We want to break the record.”

The Bryans broke Marx and Zelenay once from five chances in the opening set and fought off three break points faced on serve to close out the straight-sets win in 69 minutes.  The Americans were contesting their third straight final at the ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tennis tournament, having reached the final in 2008 and winning the title last year, defeating Marcelo Melo-Andre Sa, of Brazil.

They improved to an 11-2 season mark with their second title of the year.  They kicked off the 2010 campaign by winning the Australian Open for the fourth time over rivals Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in the finals.  It was their eight Grand Slam Championship and they have been in a record setting sixteen Grand Slam Finals.

Mike Bryan said about chasing the all-time doubles titles record this season: “We’re going to try not to worry about it.  We have goals to be No. 1, and to be No. 1 you have to win titles.”

In 2009, they clinched the ATP World Tour Doubles Champions title for the fifth time in seven years, tying Woodbridge and Woodforde for most year-end No. 1 finishes.

The 31-year-old American twins celebrated another milestone Saturday with their semi-final victory, becoming the first team in the Open Era to win 600 matches together.  "It's a special milestone for us," Mike Bryan said. "To play this long together and still be doing it with 600 wins is quite an accomplishment.  It's good to do it in Delray, a place we like coming to, and where American fans can support us."  Excerpted from the ATP WEB Site.

Fast Facts:

*** Tennis Channel times for the USA vs. Serbia Davis Cup Tie in Belgrade over the next three days: Friday Singles, John Isner, USA vs. Viktor Troicki, Serbia, 7:00 a.m West Coast and 10:00 a.m. East Coast.  Follwed by Sam Querrey, USA,  vs. Novak Djokovic, Serbia.  Saturday Doubles,  Mike-Bob Bryan, USA, vs. Nenad Zimonjic-Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia, 5:00 a.m. West Coast and 8:00 a.m. East Coast.  Sunday Reverse Singles, Isner vs. Djokovic, 6:00 West Coast and 9:00 East Coast, with Querrey vs. Troicki to follow.  If you miss any of these telecasts they will be rebroadcast at 7:00 Eastern Time Zone each day and, I think, 4:00 West Coast.  Check the Tennis Channel WEB Site for exact times.

*** The Bryan Bros. Band, featuring David Baron and Counting Crows drummer Jim Bogios,  played gala and sold out gigs over the past few weeks at the Viper Room in Hollywood, Cafe du Nord in San Francisco, the HP Pavillion in San Jose, and four gigs at the Delray Beach Tournament.  Upcoming gigs include Tuesday, March 9 at the La Quinta Resort at 8:30, plus other gigs on the grounds of the Indian Wells and Miami Tournaments.  They will also play at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston on Thursday evening, April 8, following the evening matches.

*** The Bros. 60 Minutes piece looks like it will be on Sunday Night on CBS in late March.  We will send along the exact time and date when we have it.

*** Here's the link to the Bryan Bros. Band's hot new CD, Let It Rip on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/let-it-rip-feat-david-baron-ep/id341137121   Get it and give it a listen for four straight days and you'll be hooked by thier great and catchy tunes.

*** Mike 'n Bob send along their best congratulations to the Woodies - - - Mark Woodforde 'n Todd Woodbridge on their being named to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.  They will be inducted in July at the Newport Tournament.  Bob wrote:  "We send along our congratulations to our idols, The Woodies, on their induction into the International Hall of Fame.  No team amassed records and a body of doubles work like Todd and Mark.  They were an amazing team in so many ways and we not only looked up to them, butwe learned from them.  We feel fortunate to have been able to compete against them and we will always remember out matches with them.  If our schedule permits, we hope to be there in Newport to see them go in the Hall of Fame.  They are great guys, great gentlemen and a credit to the sport - - - then and now."  Mike Bryan added: "We are happy for the Woodies and we say well done on this honor and also on their careers.  Not only were they the best team to ever play the great game of doubles, but they also competed with class.  We also consider them friends and they have always been very nice and encouraging to us.  They love the game and are still in it and coaching - - - which is great.  We still see them quite often and they always have a good word to say to us.  They set the gold standard for doubles.  Davis Cup, Grand Slams, Olympics, Tour Events - - - they did it all and they won 'em all.  Good for the International Hall of Fame for inducting them and recognizing their wonderful contributions to the sport."

*** Had a good and fun meeting with big time music execs Bill Vuylsteke and Jonathan McHugh at Coogies last Wednesday and then we visited the Malibu Racquet Club.  There are plans to hold a gala music and tennis event called Grand Slam Jam at MRC next Oct. 23.  Besides a clinic and pro am and tournament for club level players, there would be an exhibition featuring Mike 'n Bob and friends from the tour and then a big concert featuring some huge acts in a well known music club in LA.  Along with Bill, Jonathan, Mike 'n Bob, Trey Walke, and John McCampbell, Sean McCarthy is a driving force behind this event.  More details will be coming about this GSJ in the months ahead.

*** The Bryan Bros. are looking forward to playing the First Serve Pro Am in Miami, March 22-24.  The event will feature most of the top 14 doubles stars in the world and is headed up by Trey and Erika Buchholz.  Coach Bryan will run the event that is always fun, social and with very competitive and hotly contested matches over the two days.  Chris Jeffries is the founder and benefactor of this fabulous Pro Am.

*** Coach Bryan enjoyed doing three days of clinics and talks in Washington DC, Richmond and McClean.  Special thanks to hardworking and dynamic Janine Underwood and the Virginia Tennis Assn. and the Richmond Tennis Assn. and the Mid Atlantic Foundation for having me out to do so many great events.  I also enjoyed helping emcee the Mid Atlantic Hall of Fame Banquet, headed up so well by the creative and powerful Sara Fornaciari.   Altruistic and visionary Ken Brody was inducted into the Hall of Fame, as was Mike 'n Bob's Stanford teammate and long time pal, Paul Goldstein.  What a fantastic young man who had a sensational and record setting junior, collegiate and pro career.  It was a murderers row of four incredible talks by four inspirational Hall of Famers - - -Stan Smith, Donald Dell, Dick Gould - - - all presenting Paul, and then Paul's acceptance speech - - - just so well delivered and everyone in the room was so uplifted and so proud to be in tennis.

*** Coach Bryan has had a busy month riding the rails for tennis and for Prince.  He has done several talks and clinics in Chicago, Indy, Dallas, Richmond, Washington DC, and McClean.  Tennis is alive and well and thriving and there is so much enthusiasm "out there" for our great sport.

*** All the Bryans mourn the loss and are saddened by the passing of their wonderful friend, 19 year-old, Alex Smith.  They first met Alex in Shanghai a few years ago and were also glad to have him on the bench last year in ther Davis Cup match against Switzerland.  He even came over to London to root the Bros. on at Wimbledon.  He was an inspiration to us all in so many ways - - - his friendship and caring for others, his humor, his zest for life, his courage, and his passion for tennis.  His best of all human spirits will live on in us all.  We send along our most heartfelt sympathy to his great Dad David and Mom Lanie, and his terrific brother Jack.

*** Thanks for your support and root like hell for our US Davis Cup Team over the next three days.  WB

 

Jan. 30, 2010:   ATP World Tour Doubles Champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan defeated rivals Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 Saturday evening in Melbourne to win their fourth Australian Open doubles crown.

The Americans successfully defended their title at Melbourne Park, having beaten Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in the final last year, and also lifted the trophy in 2006 (d. Paes-Damm) and 2007 (d. Bjorkman-Mirnyi).

“It's a great city.  We feel comfortable here,” said Mike.  “I mean, I think Andre called it the happy slam.  Seems we're in a good mood coming down here, fresh from an off season.  We like to get a jump to the year."

The victory marks the twins’ eighth Grand Slam championship win, putting them in second place behind Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde (11) for most Grand Slam doubles titles won by a team in the Open Era.  In addition to their triumphs at the Australian Open, the Bryans also won Roland Garros in 2003, Wimbledon in 2006 and the US Open in 2005 and 2008.

“Catching the Woodies is on our mind obviously,” said Bob. “But it's a few Sundays away before we get to that point.  They are our idols.  To be considered in the same league with those guys is an honor in itself.  I imagine if we stay healthy, we might touch that mark.  But if we do we definitely want to honor those guys for all they've done for us.  Todd, when he retired, he's given us advice. They've been extremely nice to us when we were youngsters.”

In the teams’ 12th meeting, the Bryans made the perfect start as they raced to a 5-2 lead before closing out the first set 6-3.

Second seeds Nestor and Zimonjic quickly opened up a 3-1 lead in the second set, but it was an advantage they were to relinquish immediately and the match appeared to be slipping away from them in straight sets as they went on to trail 2-5 in the tie-break.  The 2009 Wimbledon champions hit back, though, and leveled the match as they won the tie-break 7-5.

Undeterred by the loss of the second set, the Bryans broke serve to lead 3-1 in the deciding set and went on to close out the victory 6-3.

“It was a tough break losing the second set,” said Bob. “Maybe in another final, a smaller tournament, that could have broken us.  But when you play two weeks here and it's a Grand Slam final, you don't let anything get you down.  I thought we stayed extremely positive.  We put it all behind us.  I thought actually our energy went up in the third.  We kind of had out of body experiences in the third, kind of just got across the finish line somehow.  It was great.”

The 31-year-old twins also attributed their success partly to switching sides on the doubles court, with right-handed Mike returning from the deuce court.

“We thought we would try something different,” explained Mike.  They've kind of had our number.  Last year they beat us in a lot of finals.  We decided to throw a new look at them.  We used to play like that early in our career.  We've had some experience doing it.

“It was our first time in a Grand Slam final playing that way, but it seemed to help.  They served extremely big.  It's a little easier to take the inside out backhand crosscourt than trying to pull a big one.  It could be the way of the future.”

“It felt today like there was a little bit less pressure,” said Mike. “I thought maybe they were the favorites.  Even though we were seeded No. 1, they had beaten us.  We went in there a little looser.  I think we felt the pressure in the past.”

The Bryans regained the year-end No. 1 team ranking last year after victory at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, making it the third time they had been crowned ATP World Tour Champions and the fifth time they have been ranked #1 in the world at the seasons end.  They have also been ranked #2 twice.  Story excerpted from ATPWorldTour.com

Upcoming Schedule:

Feb. 3         Hollywood, Bryan Bros. Band performance at the Viper Club, with David Baron on vocals and County Crows drummer Jim Bogios on drums.  They will go on at 8:00 sharp and contact the Viper Club for tickets.  It is close to a sell out right now.

Feb. 6         San Francisco, Bryan Bros. Band performance at the Cafe du Nord at 9:00, again with David and Jim.

Feb. 8-14    San Jose, SAP Open (Bill Rapp Tournament Director) and the Bros. are scheduled for Tuesday Night.

Feb. 15-21  Memphis, Pro Tournament.

Feb. 22-29  Delray Beach, Pro Tournament. (Mark Baron Tournament Director).

Feb. 23, 26   Delray Beach, Bryan Bros. Band performance, featuring David Baron at 5:00.

March TBA, New York, featured on CBS's 60 Minutes, interviewed by Lesley Stahl.

March 1-8   Belgrade, Davis Cup vs. Serbia, with Captain Patrick McEnroe and teammates John Isner and Sam Querrey.

Mar. 11-21  Indian Wells, Pro Tournament.

Mar. 22-24  Miami, First Serve Pro Am (Chris Jeffries, Trey and Erika Buchholz).

April 25-4   Key Biscayne, Pro Tournament.

April 5-11   River Oaks, United States Claycourt Championships (Van Barry Tournament Director).

April 8        River Oaks CC, Bryan Bros. Band performance, featuring David Baron.

The Californian twins recorded their 40th win at Melbourne Park (40-7 record) and kept alive their chances of capturing a fourth Australian Open title and eighth Grand Slam crown overall.  The Bryans have won 56 team titles (56-38 overall) compared to 61 trophies won by the 'Woodies'.
 
The Bros. have been the #1 team in the world for five of the past seven years and voted the Fans Favorite Doubles Team for the past four years in a row.  The ATP named them the Doubles Team of the Decade last December.
 
In the semi-finals, the five-time ATP World Tour Champions will challenge first-time partners Michael Kohlmann of Germany and Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.  Story courtesy ATPWorldTour.com
 Fast Facts:

*** Following their Australian campaign, Mike and Bob will compete in San Jose (TD Bill Rapp), Feb. 8-14 and will play on Tuesday Night and they look forward to seeing their great Stanford Coaches, Dick Gould and John Whitlinger, while in Northern Cal; Memphis on Feb. 15-21; Delray Beach (TD Mark Baron and Ivan Baron), Feb. 22-28.
 
*** The twins begin March with Davis Cup in Belgrade against Serbia with teammates John Isner, Sam Querrey, and Captain Patrick McEnroe.  The Bryans own a record setting 16 doubles wins in Davis Cup and were undefeated in 2007 when the US won the Championship, defeating Russia in the finals in Portland, Oregon.
 
*** Other March events include Indian Wells, March 11-21; the First Serve Pro Am in Miami, March 22-24 (Trey and Erika Buchholz and Chris Jeffries); and March 25-April 4 will find them playing Key Biscayne.  
 
*** Their last spring event here in our country will be the United States Claycourt Championships at River Oaks (Van Barry), April 5-11.  They'll be happy to see their former Stanford teammate and long time pal, Ali Ansari, and also their friend Alex Smith.  
 
*** The Bryan Bros Band Featuring David Baron will take the stage at famed venues - - - the Viper Room in LA, Wed. Feb. 3, and Cafe du Nord, Sat. Feb. 6, in San Francisco - - - to celebrate the release of their debut album, Let It Rip.  Special guest at both shows will be Jim Bogios, drummer for the Counting Crows.   Let It Rip was released exclusively on Amazon.com, where it reached #12 on the New Releases - Pop charts and #23 on the All Pop/Rock Albums charts.  It is now available on iTunes along with the bonus track, "Autograph (feat. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic)".  Their Bryan Bros. Band will perform in Delray Beach in late February and at Houston on Thursday Night, April 8.
 
*** The Bros. are excited to playing in their new K-Swiss clothes and have gotten lots of great comments about the outfits and shoes from the Australian fans.
 
*** Coach Bryan flew to Chicago for Prince to do three talks for a big Coaches Clinic put on by Gary Bodenmiller and Bob Woods.  In the next few weeks he will give talks at Tennis Conventions in Indy and Dallas, before going on to Charlottesville, Richmond and Washington DC.  Like Mike 'n Bob, Coach B loves his new Prince Ignite 95.
 
*** Mike 'n Bob want to send along congratulations to their long time pal, Harold Hecht, the Emmy Award winning tennis coverage television producer, who will be inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame on January 30th.  They also want to say congrats to Harold and his wife, Tiffany, for recently having twins who will be the Mixed Doubles Champs at Wimbledon in 2034.
 
*** The Bryan Brothers recently sent off bags of tennis clothes and shoes to worthwhile and dynamic organizations all over the US, who do great job for kids:  Smiley High School in Houston (Loretta Hrncir);  EPATT (David Higaki); Southeast Tennis and Learning Center (Cora Barry); Washington Tennis and Education Foundation (Eleni Rossides and Willis Thomas); Mal Washington Kids Foundation (Terri Florio); First Serve Program of Ft. Lauderdale (Robert Flader); San Francisco Juniors (Joe Guglielmi); and Sacramento Juniors (Lonnie Nielson).  We encourage everyone to support these programs and others like them that help youngsters with their academics and tennis.
 
*** Mike 'n Bob recently sent a check for $5,000 to the Santa Barbara Tennis Patrons (Elizabeth Winterhalter, CathyAnn Simon, and Ethel Byers) and $5,000 to the Ventura County Junior Tennis Assn. (Terry Lynch).  The Bros. grew up playing tournaments and benefiting from the work of the well run organizations.  They have asked that the funds be used to sponsor a child in need (in Santa Barbara County and Ventura County) who has good academics, a good attitude and sportsmanship, and who has talent and passion for the great game of tennis.  The child will get help with their lessons, transportation, and entry fees.  The Bryans have asked that Prince supply the two youngsters with rackets and that K-Swiss supply clothes and shoes and Oakley to supply a pair of their best of all sunglasses.  The Tennis Club of Santa Barbara (Amber Bottleson, Charlotte Valentine, Larry Mousouris) has joined in the spirit of this project and will give the player a year's membership in their beautiful and venerable club.  And we are confident a club in Ventura County will also follow suit.  The SBTP and VCJTA are worthy of your support.
 
*** The Bros. are working to try and stage Bryan Brothers Foundation Events tentatively on Sept. 25 at the Spanish Hills CC (Dave McKinney) and Oct. 23 at a well known Southern California Club - - - the Grand Slam Jam (Sean McCarthy).
 
*** The Bryans are well represented by the Best Agency - - - Donald Dell, President John Tobias, Jeff Newman, Karen Piner, and Sam Duvall.
 
*** Once again the Tennis Channel is knocking it out of the park with their first rate coverage of the Oz Open.  There's nobody better than the smooth Leif Shiras and we love the work of Corina Morariu and Justin Gimelstob.  They are all so knowledgeable and they share their love and excitement for the game.
 
*** All the Bryans were saddened by the loss of Coach Bryan's Aunt and Mike and Bob's Great-Aunt, Dorothy Brosch, who passed away last week.  She had a zest for life and a wonderful personality, great smile and hearty laugh.  She could tell a story better than anyone and she wrote a very inspirational book late in her life.  She cared about her family and others each and every day.  
 
*** Thanks for your support.

Taylor’s wish to meet the Bryan brothers came true through the “Make a Wish Foundation” in which she described her dream to meet the World No. 1 team.

The Bryans begin their Heineken Open campaign on Tuesday afternoon when they face Rogier Wassen and Horacio Zeballos.  Auckland is the first tournament of the year for the Bryans and they spent December playing several exhibitions and doing charity events across the US.  They also performed with their Bryan Bros. Band at most of their appearances, playing songs from their new CD, Let It Rip, which is now available on ITunes.

The twin brothers finished 2009 as the #1 doubles team for the fifth time after winning the London World Tour Championships.  They have also been the Fans Favorite Doubles Team for the past four years in a row and the ITF has named them World Doubles Champions for a record six years.  They were undefeated in bringing the Davis Cup back to the US in 2007 and hold the record for the most Davis Cup doubles win with 16.  They will be featured on 60 Minutes in a couple of weeks. 

Following Auckland, they will play the Australian Open in Melbourne, then tournaments in San Jose (Feb. 8-14), Memphis (Feb. 15-21), Delray Beach (Feb. 22-28), and then they will journey to Belgrade for the first round of the Davis Cup against Serbia.  Excerpted from ATP Staff reports. Jan. 11, 2010.

1. Roger Federer

Roger Federer, possibly the greatest player ever to grace the game, has dominated men’s tennis since the turn of the millennium, winning a record-breaking 15 Grand Slam titles.  In July 2003, at the age of 21, the Swiss delivered on his early promise by capturing his first major crown at Wimbledon.  What followed in the next six years has been truly remarkable.

The Basel native went on to win a further five Wimbledon titles, including five successive victories between 2003-07. Since 2004, his dominance at The All England Club has only been interrupted by arch rival Rafael Nadal in an epic final in 2008 that was hailed as one of the greatest matches ever.  Federer also exerted his dominance at the US Open, where he won the title five times in a row between 2004-08, with his run finally ending against Juan Martin del Potro in a five-set thriller in the 2009 final.  He won three Australian Opens in 2004, ’06 and ’07 and completed the set at Roland Garros this year, defeating Robin Soderling to become the sixth man in history to win the career Grand Slam.  Federer has been a near constant at the top of the South African Airways ATP Rankings.

2. Rafael Nadal

In recent years, Rafael Nadal has emerged as the strongest challenger to Federer’s dominance and has established one of the most gripping rivalries in the history of men’s tennis with the Swiss. The Spaniard, who proudly displays the silhouette of a bull’s horns on his tennis shoes, has been the undoubted King of Clay in the past five years. Of the Spaniard’s 36 tour-level titles, 25 have come on his surface of choice.

The Mallorcan’s clay-court dominance has been at its zenith at Roland Garros, where he first made his debut in 2005.  He won his first 31 matches at the clay-court major, capturing four successive titles, before his run came to and end at the hands of Robin Soderling in the fourth round this year.  But it is not only on clay that the left-hander has excelled.  He became the first Spaniard since Manuel Santana 1966 to win Wimbledon when he dethroned five-time champion Federer in 2008 and won his first hard-court major at the ‘09 Australian Open, once again defeating Federer.

3. Lleyton Hewitt

The feisty Australian burst onto the scene in the late '90s, becoming the youngest winner on the ATP World Tour when he won his home-town title in Adelaide at the age of 16 years, 10 months in January 1998, and was the man to beat as the new millennium rolled in.

With his famous cry of “Come On!” punctuating his every success and donning a back-to-front baseball cap, Hewitt won his first Grand Slam title at the 2001 US Open, signaling a changing of the guard as he dismissed Pete Sampras in the final.  That same year, he became the youngest player (20 years, eight months) and the first Australian to be crowned ATP World Tour Champion in the history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings. The following year he held aloft the Wimbledon trophy after defeating David Nalbandian and once again went on to finish at ATP World Tour Champion. (Federer is the only other player to finish ATP World Tour Champion multiple times this decade.)

 

4. Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi retired in 2006 but his impact early in the decade guaranteed him a place in our Top 5 list.  Agassi won three Australian Opens in 2000, ’01 and ’03 and in May 2003, at 33, he became the oldest player in the history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings (since 1973) to hold the No. 1 ranking.  Agassi also won seven of his record 17 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles during the decade, including the Cincinnati crown at 34.

Agassi’s legacy extended far beyond the tennis court, however.  From the beginning of his career as a brash showman, Agassi had always been one of the game’s highest-profile players, but in the 2000s he consolidated his growing reputation as a statesman.  Who could cheer against a 33-year-old legend who could still beat the best that the new generation had to offer?  He also became arguably the biggest sporting philanthropist on the planet, raising tens of millions of dollars for the foundation that provides funding for his charter school, the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, which provides free schooling for underprivileged children in Las Vegas.

5. Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick has faced the full weight of America’s expectation throughout his career, as he looks to emulate the success of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, and the Texan has unblinkingly embraced the task. Consistently strong results at the highest level have seen the 27 year old finish in the Top 10 of the South African Airways ATP Rankings for the past eight years; Roger Federer is the only other player to have accomplished that feat.  Roddick has won 27 tour-level titles, including winning at least one ATP World Tour title each year for nine years in a row.

The standout season for Roddick was 2003, when he won his first Grand Slam title – fittingly on home soil – at the US Open, defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final. Later that year, he became the youngest American (21 years, three months) to claim the crown of ATP World Tour Champion in the history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings (since 1973).

 

Doubles Team of the Decade: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan

Dynamic American doubles duo Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan have, without doubt, been the best doubles team of the decade.  Since winning their first ATP World Tour title at Memphis in 2001, the twins have gone on to amass 56 tour-level titles between them, the fourth-best tally in the Open Era.  They are just five wins behind all-time leaders Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde and, at 31, look likely to top the Woodies' mark, perhaps as early as 2010.  They have been #1 five times and #2 twice.

The charismatic Californians, whose trademark celebration is a chest bump, have won seven Grand Slam doubles crowns, beginning with Roland Garros in 2003 – the same year that they became the first brothers to finish ATP World Tour Doubles Champions, a crown they have earned five times in the past seven years.  In 2005, they became the second team in 50 years to reach the final of all four Grand Slam championships in the same year and completed the career Grand Slam a year later with their first victory at Wimbledon.  They also have a record tying 15 Grand Slam final appearances.

Key players in the United States' Davis Cup team, they clinched the Cup for their nation in 2007 with victory in the doubles rubber over Russia.  They were undefeated in their four match on their quest to bring the Cup back to the USA and with 16 wins, they hold the record for most DC victories in history.

Not content with dominating the doubles scene in the decade, the Bryans have also wielded their sparkling musical talents into forming the Bryan Bros. Band and they released their first album, “Let It Rip”, featuring the vocals of David Baron, at the US Open last September.  And you'll even hear a rap verse by Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic on their new smash single, the humorous and rocking, "Autograph", which came out in London in November.  Their sixth tune on the album will be released at the Australian Open this January and is a beautiful tribute to Andre Agassi called "Open Your Heart."  The CD has had rave reviews and is selling well and may be obtained on ITunes.  ATP Staff, Dec. 13, 2009, excerpted.

Will Hamilton from Fuzzy Yellow Balls had a chance to catch up with Mike and Bob Bryan to talk to them about the art of the volley. Check out this video posted on FuzzyYellowBalls.com.


Be sure to check out more tips and footage from the Bryan Brothers here. For more from Will Hamilton and the Fuzzy Yellow Balls team, be sure to visit FuzzyYellowBalls.com and sign up for their video tennis lessons. They'll have you playing like you have an unfair advantage.

For the second year in a row, the battle for the year-end No. 1 ATP Doubles Team Ranking came down to the last match of the season, with the Bryans needing to win the title to reclaim the crown they previously held in 2003 and ’05-07.  Last year they lost out to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in a winner-take-all final at the season climax in Shanghai.

The Bryans came into the ATP World Tour Finals with only a slim chance of finishing No. 1 in the 2009 ATP Doubles Team Rankings.  They trailed their rivals, Nestor and Zimonjic, by 830 points and had lost their past two matches on the ATP World Tour.  The twins were ominously defeated by Mirnyi and Ram in their opening round-robin match, but hit back strongly and played what they later claimed was their best match of the year to clinch the title.

“It means so much,” said Bob Bryan. “It's pretty much what we play for now.  That's the goal.  Play well in the slams, but the ultimate goal is to finish No. 1.  We felt like it was stolen from us last year.  Now we kind of crept up on those guys and stole it from them this year.  We feel like it's a little bit of a payback.”

“To come full circle, do it in the last tournament, with so much riding on this one match, it's huge,” agreed Mike Bryan. “We're going to be talking about this match for the rest of our lives.  There's nothing sweeter than this.”

It is the third time in six appearances that the Americans have won the year-end championships, previously winning back-to-back titles in 2003 (d. Llodra-Santoro) and ’04 (d. Black-Ullyett), when it was held in Houston, Texas.

The Bryans clinched their 56th tour-level title together, the fourth-best tally in the Open Era.  Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde are the all-time leaders with 61 titles.  The Bryans are now just one trophy behind the teams of Peter Fleming-John McEnroe and Bob Hewitt-Frew McMillan, who both won 57 titles.

“It's in our sights now to catch them.” said Bob Bryan. “To be even considered in the same sentence with the Woodies makes us proud.  Those guys are our idols.  I assume if we stay healthy, it's going to happen some day. Definitely want to honor those guys.  That's the standard of doubles.  Those guys were the best players ever.  To be mentioned with those two is awesome.”

In a re-match of their round-robin clash Monday, both teams were denied on break point chances in a high-quality first set that was to be decided on a tie-break.  Mirnyi and Ram drew first blood to lead 2-0 as Mirnyi angled a backhand cross-court winner past the stranded Bryans.  Mike Bryan was quick to level for his team, though, rifling a backhand winner down the middle for 2-2.  As the tie-break proceeded with serve, it was the Americans who reached set point first at 6-5 and they converted as a telling backhand return from Mike Bryan forced a volley error.

Both teams continued to serve strongly in the second set and neither was able to garner a break point chance until the eighth game, when Bob Bryan made the breakthrough with a stinging return to Ram’s feet that the Israeli could not return into court.  A booming service game from Bob Bryan followed as the twins closed out victory after one hour and 59 minutes.

“It was a tough match,” said Mike Bryan. “I thought they played great.  It was twice the match it was in the round robin.  We both kind of rose to the occasion the first set.  It could have gone either way.  They won more points in the first set.  I thought we just won the big points.  We scraped through it.”

The Bryans closed the 2009 season with a 68-18 match record, highlighted by titles. They opened the season with success at the Medibank International (d. Nestor-Zimonjic) in Sydney before clinching their seventh Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open with victory over Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles.  The duo, who also finished runner-up at Wimbledon (l. to Nestor-Zimonjic) and three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, has won six of its seven titles on hard-court this year.

“It’s very disappointing,” said Ram. “To get to the Finals and lose in the final, it's tough.  I guess they needed it more, and they showed it in the second set.  They were much more energetic.  They pushed themselves to No. 1.”

Fast Facts:

*** Mike 'n Bob will be featured on 60 Minutes sometime this Spring.  For the past four months the crews of this great show have been shooting interviews and background of the guys all over the US and even in London this past week.  Following their final in the 02 Arena today, Lesley Stahl met them in the tunnel for yet another sit down interview.  Lesley and her producers Shachar Baron and Meghan Frank and their staff and film crews have been a delight to work with.