By McCarton Ackerman, USTA.com
Bob and Mike Bryan have added yet another milestone to their storied careers. The American doubles duo reached 1,000 match wins as a team on Friday at the ATP World Tour event in Vienna, clinching the feat with their quarterfinal win over Pablo Cuevas and Viktor Troicki, 6-4, 4-6, [10-7].
“We’re perfectionists. We expect the very best out of each other. We want to play perfect every time we step out on the court, make every shot and win every big point,” Mike Bryan told ATPWorldTour.com. “That’s why we’ve had such a high standard for so many years. We’re still working as hard as ever and are just as hungry as ever.”
Their first tour victory came in 1996 in Atlanta, when the brothers were both still junior players. To put their accomplishment in perspective, Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde are second on the all-time wins list with 508 wins, followed by Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor with 464 victories.
The Bryan brothers have won 113 tour doubles title together, more than any other doubles team. They’ve also won a record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles, with five of those coming at the US Open.
The Bryans have represented the U.S. in team competition for more than a decade, posting a 24-4 record in Davis Cup and leading Team USA to a Davis Cup title in 2007. They’ve also won two Olympic medals, securing a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and gold at the 2012 London games.
This season, they have won three doubles titles (Houston, Barcelona, Rome) and posted runner-up finishes at the French Open and Delray Beach. But at age 38, they don’t see themselves slowing down anytime soon.
“We don’t feel like our journey is over yet,” Bob Bryan said. “We still have some goals that we accomplish. We still love the feeling of working hard and lifting up a trophy.”