ennis is crowded with brothers. Many we know well. John (the fierce ‘n famous) McEnroe makes his younger bro Pat seem semi-saintly. Some brothers can boast wholesome, apple-pie backgrounds, like the affable mid-Westerners Tom and the late Tim Gullikson. Some are from more exotic, distant ports like Madras, India’s Vijay and Anand Amritraj or Wayne and Byron Black, who emerged from a remote avocado plantation in Zimbabwe. Others, like Sandy and Gene Mayer, are “merely” products of an inspired teaching-pro father.

And these days, there’s a curious brothers trend. An older brother—a collegiate player/ wannabe—with not quite enough game to make it on the circuit turns to aiding and abetting his younger brother. UC-Berkeley’s Carl Chang coached his brother Michael. The University of Georgia’s John Roddick travels the world with his younger brother Andy. And Thomas Blake, once a Harvard player, now is a confidante/advisor for his brother James.

“There’s no real substitute for first-hand experience,” James Blake told IT. “[But] if you have an older sibling who’s been through it, that’s about the closest thing. Once we matured, I got along with my brother great. I followed him all the way through Harvard and loved being around him. I still have him help me. My brother [created] a lot of expectations, but I was able to surpass them… [Now] it definitely helps having a person in my corner who knows what it’s like to train, what I’m going through every time I practice or am in a match. I definitely hear my brother more than anyone when I’m playing matches. I hear him cheering and knowing what’s going on. It really does make a difference.”

 

*****

 

But tennis’ greatest brothers aren’t merely brothers. Bob and Mike Bryan are twins whose destinies seem glued at the hip. Perhaps more than any other duo in sports history, they’ve shared their lives and seem to relish their peas-in-a-pod (gone global) existence. These guys don’t just show up now and then to play some dubs, they practice, work and hang out together. They share a coach, a house and together have taken the art of doubles to a new stratosphere. So it’s little wonder that on-court, these bounding brothers don’t just react with congruent moves, they pounce as one.

Andy Roddick observed, “It’s funny, in a single point you can notice how their timing is precisely in tune. They’ll move into that critical split-step in tennis at just the same moment.”

Blake added, “It’s incredible, it’s amazing. You’re not playing two doubles players. You’re playing a real team, guys that are moving well together. They know where each other are going. They barely need to talk when they’re serving. They know what they’re doing. No other team in the world has that advantage, having played that many matches together, knowing each other that well. It’s kind of crazy. It gives them a huge advantage.”

But the world’s greatest doubles team didn’t just happen —   poof — out of thin air. Rather, the Bryan brothers are the product of a no-stone-unturned sense of commitment and an inspired vision. No, their parents’ intention wasn’t as overt as Richard Williams (who, after seeing Virginia Ruzici win $40,000 on TV, decided to conceive Venus) or Michael Agassi, who famously dangled a tennis ball over his son Andre’s crib and soon was bombarding the kid with a bevy of balls from tireless ball machines.

Rather Kathy Bryan, a former circuit player who played Wimbledon four

 

times, and her hubby Wayne, a collegiate standout turned teaching pro and club owner, didn’t even start their kids playing with toy rackets until the wry ol’ age of two, and they didn’t play their first tournament until they were five.

But by the time Bobby and Mikey were in kindergarten, they were going to school in tennis togs and demonstrating the game to their young classmates. Soon after, they traipsed off to see Agassi play and, of course, returned with armloads of Andre posters to plaster up on their bedroom walls. Then came their defining “on the Damascus road” moment when, at a Davis Cup tie at La Costa, they met doubles whiz Ricky Leach, who told the wide-eyed ten-year-olds to chase their dreams.

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Clearly, these were destiny’s children, thanks in large measure to a more than ample dose of parental guidance. No, not the make or break (“we gotta get out of this gulag”) post-Soviet intensity we’ve seen so often. Rather, this was Enlightened Parenting 101 – California Style: every day a firm, sensible daily schedule with three hours of tennis and a “grades matter” household without TV or video games. So when Mike threw a hefty snit in a junior tournament he was about to win, his mom yanked him out of there, pronto.

But things were never one-dimensional. Often Papa Wayne (who, not coincidentally, went on to become the game’s most tireless pied piper) would stop practice sessions short just to keep his kids eager. The brothers would never play each other in the finals of junior tournaments and good humor, their treasured rock music and family love were empowering constants.

Oh — to be young, talented and twins!

Some kids collect stamps or baseball cards. The Bryans collected gold balls in all the junior age divisions and then went up the coast to prosper at mighty, yet idyllic, Stanford (where coach Dick Gould claimed, “Not once did I hear those guys raise their voice to one another.”)

Then, at last, it was time to set sail out upon the foreboding waters of the ATP circuit where dominance isn’t exactly served up on a shiny platter. Rather, an “all in good time” learning curve proved to be their norm.

It took them five years to win their first Grand Slam — surprisingly, the French Open. For years, Davis Cup chief Pat Mac cautiously refused to send them one of his treasured Davis Cup invites. It took the duo eight years before they notched their coveted career Grand Slam in dubs, and they have yet to claim the storied Davis Cup trophy. And dare we note that they’ve lost more Grand Slam finals (six) than anyone else in town.

“Ultimately, this is a triumph of the normalcy of two regular, unpretentious, more-than-decent fellows with back-stories free of angst in Siberia or war in Croatia.” “They have such a commitment, a sense of giving, a deep sense of loyalty. Every day, they honor the game. They’re unbelievable ambassadors.”

Still, any way you look at it, the Bryans — who appear to be reaching their mid-career zenith — have been triumphant. Their 35 ATP titles are more than three times as many as any other brother tandem. They are only one of three Open Era teams to win the career Grand Slam. They were the No. 1 doubles team three of the past four years, and their five Slam titles are the fourth highest in Open history. And, by the way, their 11-1 Davis Cup resume ain’t exactly shabby. No wonder Jimmy Arias called them “the Roger Federer of doubles.”

So the tennis gods must NOT be that crazy. After all, Bob’s a lefty with a vicious, booming serve and power volleys and has a nifty necklace. Mike’s a righty with an unconscious return and classic volleys and has a main squeeze. Bob is an inch taller and plays the keyboards and guitar. Mike is 20 pounds lighter and is a drummer.

Yet, amidst all this (“diversity matters”) goodness, questions still swirl:

• Just how far would big Bob — with that mighty serve — have made it in singles? After all, if a one-stroke wonder like Vladimir Voltchkov could reach the Wimbledon semis, why not Bob?

• Dare we ask — if Mike gets hitched, will that upset the brotherly apple cart?

• Will the Bryans break Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde’s record of 11 Grand Slam titles?

• Can these guys play big league ball indefinitely, à la Martina Navratilova and compete deep into their 40s?

• Will they become the first dubs team named to the International Hall of Fame?

Amidst all these questions, the Bryans soldier on. From distant courts in Adelaide to Roland Garros in the misty dusk, or before a frenetic crowd in a Davis Cup arena in Carolina, the delightfully upbeat twins stir our imagination more than any other duo.

“Just look at their energy in competition,” noted Stanford coach Dick Gould. “You just have to take notice. So many players out there seem to be acting, to be pretending to play with enthusiasm. But the Bryans are always bouncing on their toes. They can’t wait, they’re always eager and, of course, they’ve got those chest bumps. They’ve such a good communication, such a feeling and a love for each other. Then if you bring their parents — Wayne and Kathy — into the picture, you have a family that has given more to tennis than any other. They have such a commitment, a sense of giving, a deep sense of loyalty. Every day, they honor the game. They’re unbelievable ambassadors.”

Ultimately, this is a triumph of the normalcy of two regular, unpretentious, more-than-decent fellows with back-stories free of angst in Siberia or war in Croatia. This is the triumph of two hunky garage band guys from Camarillo — the strawberry and lemon capital of the world. This is the triumph of an American family and a singular duo who sensed that if they honed their craft, persevered through testy storms and remained true to their values and the top-of-that-mountain vision they learned early on, they just might emerge triumphant.

Of course, the Bryans’ success is far more than all those trophies that crowd the shelves of their three bi-coastal homes. It’s the way they stoke it up on-court with their flicker-fast athleticism and captivating “it’s a thrill to compete”  joy. In a too cynical (“where have all the role models gone?”) universe, the Bryans give back. They inspire.

Okay, these California dudes have never surfed. We haven’t spotted them yet on American Idol, and we doubt a Bryan Brothers reality show is in the offing. Still, it’s safe to say that the Bryans have done what no other twins have done. They’ve achieved what no other brothers have achieved, in tennis or ANY other sport for that matter. After all, these unique performers — these wonder twins — are simply America’s twins.

To contact Bill Simons, email him at editorial@insidetennis.com

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