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Bryan brothers secure year-end top spot


 

Originally published on: 03/11/11 10:08

Bob and Mike Bryan’s first round win at the Valencia Open on Wednesday ensured that they will end the year at No.1 in the ATP Doubles Team rankings for the seventh time in nine years.

The 33-year-old American duo saw off Lukas Dlouhy and Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3 6-2 at the ATP 500 event to guarantee that No.2 team Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic have no way of overtaking them.

“We’re obviously extremely pumped to finish at No.1, especially with the quality of teams on the doubles tour,” Bob told the ATP. “It’s always our ultimate goal when we start the year and we’ll definitely look back on 2011 with positive feelings.”

The Bryans won seven titles this year including two Grand Slams, defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes for the Australian Open title and Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau for their second Wimbledon crown. Overall, they have the most team titles in the Open Era, 74, and have been ranked at No.1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings for 265 weeks in total. They will surpass John McEnroe’s record of 270 weeks on December 12.

“Breaking McEnroe’s record is something that is hard to fathom. He’s such a legend and to achieve something like this won’t truly set in for a while,” added Bob, while brother Mike stressed that their success was down to their continuing desire to improve.

“The level of tennis always keeps getting stronger, so I’m most proud of our willingness to improve as we get older. I especially want to thank our coach and one of our best friends, David Macpherson, who is always there for us win or lose and always pushes us to strive for more.”

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.