• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

The Bryan brothers are the reigning No. 1 doubles team in the world and are the No. 1 seed in thi

Photo

Identical twins Bob and Mike Bryan have always been known as a pair.

And for them, that’s just fine.

The duo, ranked No. 1 in the world in men’s doubles, enjoy being known as “the Bryans.”

“It’s not frustrating; I’m so used to being a twin,” Bob said. “Even when I was in college, I was always ‘one of the Bryans.’”

Not only do the Bryans love to play, they love to play together. The brothers have been playing doubles together since age six, and this week marks a return to UCLA’s Strauss Stadium, where the duo began playing as juniors.

“We have great memories from winning three years ago,” Mike said.

“We get super inspired to play in front of family and friends who don’t really get a chance to see us play often.”

From Camarillo, the 6-foot-4 twins didn’t have to travel far when they received their first wildcard to play in the Mercedes-Benz Cup in 1995. Their memories of UCLA reach back to 1997 and 1998, during which time they played doubles for Stanford. There they brought home an NCAA championship and a men’s doubles title for the Cardinal.

Their professional careers have been just as successful as they have won 18 titles together, including the Mercedes-Benz Cup in 2001. They captured their first Grand Slam title on the clay courts of Roland Garros at the French Open last year and have shown their versatility by winning the Queen’s Club event played on grass last month. But after falling in the Round of 16 in Wimbledon just two weeks ago, they are eager to redeem themselves, this time on the hard court surface.

But the brothers are looking beyond just this week. Besides playing for the United States in the Davis Cup, they will also be two of six players representing the country at the Olympics.

“We barely missed Sydney, so we’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” Bob said. “If we could take one title, it would be that gold medal.”

“It’s a different thing playing in the Olympics,” Mike added. “It’s a different than just tennis. We’re trying to peak for that one opportunity. It’s a one shot deal.”

Despite their success in doubles, neither of the twins sees singles careers in their futures. Their success in doubles, combined with their bonuses for doubles victories, makes leaving the area of the game essentially out of the question.

“We get so much more out of playing together,” Bob said. “We have a number of goals we have yet to achieve, and as we get older and our careers progress, the singles gets put more and more in the past.”

The twins also hope to increase the visibility of the game of doubles, which historically is second-string to singles competition.

“To market doubles, people have to know who the teams are,” Mike said. “That’s been one of our goals, to make doubles more known.”

The pair have gained increased visibility as members of a new generation of American tennis pros, including other Mercedes-Benz Cup players Taylor Dent, Mardy Fish and Robby Ginepri. Their clout in doubles has no doubt garnered strength in the marketability of their status as twins. Although they are identical, fans can distinguish them because Bob is left-handed while while Mike is right-handed.

So the pair continues to succeed. While this week’s goal is to win the doubles section of the tournament, their eyes are set on the future.

“I think we can win more games,” Mike said. “If we keep doing this, in the future we could be considered one of the top teams in tennis history.”

Not a bad sight to have one’s -- or a pair of – eyes set upon.