Robert "Bob" Charles Bryan (born April 29, 1978) is an American former doubles world No. 1tennis player.[2] He won 23 major titles: 16 in men's doubles and 7 in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Mike, he was the world No. 1 doubles player for several years, first achieving the top ranking in September 2003. The brothers were named the ATP Team of the Decade for 2000–2009.[3] They became the second men's doubles team to complete the career Golden Slam at the 2012 London Olympics.
The Bryan twins retired in August 2020. In their final two tournaments, the Bryan brothers successfully defended their title in Delray Beach, also winning the decisive rubber match in a U.S.Davis Cup tie in Honolulu.[4]
Tennis career
Doubles records
16 Grand Slams (Open Era)
30 Grand Slam men's doubles finals
10-time ITF World Champions
116 ATP Titles and 169 ATP Finals
439 weeks at #1
1000+ team match wins
10 consecutive years of winning at least 1 Grand Slam
11 time ATP Fans' Favorite Doubles Team and ATP Team of the Decade
"Bryan Golden Slam" (only team to simultaneously hold all Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal)
7 consecutive Grand Slam finals (2005 Australian–2006 Wimbledon)
39 Masters 1000 titles
"Career Golden Masters" (alongside Daniel Nestor only other players in history to win all nine Masters 1000 events)
Junior
He finished the year as the no. 1 ranked singles player in the nation in 1998 after winning the clay court nationals and reaching the finals of Kalamazoo. The brothers were back-to-back Kalamazoo doubles champions in 1995 and 1996 and won the US Open Junior doubles title in 1996.
College
He played for Stanford University in 1997 and 1998, where he helped the Cardinal win back-to-back NCAA team championships. In 1998, he won the "Triple Crown" by taking the NCAA singles, doubles (with his twin brother Mike), and team titles. He was the first man to accomplish this since Stanford's Alex O'Brien did it in 1992.[citation needed]
ATP Tour
With his twin brother Mike (who is the older by two minutes), Bryan has won 116 doubles titles,[5] including sixteen Grand Slam titles. In 2005, the Bryan brothers made it to the finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments, only the second time a men's doubles team has done this during the open era.[6] In 2006, the Bryan brothers won Wimbledon and the Australian Open and completed a Career Grand Slam. Having won the 2012 US Open, they followed up by winning the first three majors of 2013, and thus held all four titles at once. They could not complete the calendar year Grand Slam, however, as they lost in the semi-finals of the 2013 US Open.
The twins have been the year-ending top-ranked team ten times: in 2003,[7] 2005,[8] 2006,[9] 2007,[10] and then each year from 2009 to 2014 inclusive.
The Bryan brothers have been frequent participants on U.S. Davis Cup teams. The United States sealed its 32nd title at the 2007 Davis Cup.
In the 2018 Madrid Masters 1000 final, Bryan injured his hip, and the pair had to retire down 3–5 in the first set. He underwent a hip relining and made a remarkable recovery, rejoining his brother less than a year later for the 2019 Australian Open and making it to the quarterfinals. They won their first title since his surgery in February 2019 at Delray Beach.
Bryan married Florida attorney Michelle Alvarez in 2010; the couple have three children.[citation needed]
Davis Cup record (26–5)
Together with his twin brother Mike Bryan, the pair has won the most Davis Cup matches of any doubles team for the United States. Bryan holds the record for most years played (14) in the Davis Cup for the U.S.[12] He also holds a 4–2 career record in singles ties.
By winning the 2006 Wimbledon title, Bryan completed the men's doubles Career Grand Slam. He became the 19th individual player and, with Mike Bryan, the 7th doubles pair to achieve this.