Twinning the twins' tale: Tracking Bryan brothers' pursuit of the Holy Grail

US brothers Bob (L) and Mike Bryan are on a quest at this year’s US Open to win all four majors for the first time in the Open era.

The world of professional tennis is a statistician’s paradise. Numbers upon numbers to be inputted only so that an equally staggering array of numbers can come out churning which is more than enough to make statisticians’ salivate.

But there again, while most of these number-inputting may get monotonous after a while, there are those few – rarefied – names that ensure that the statistician’s well of numbers never dries up because of repetition. These are names that are then referred to as the ‘Greats’ to have ever played the game, sparking off a feverishness that excites not just statisticians but also the whole wide world of fans.

The Bryan Bothers rank almost at the tip of this peak. Almost, because their career graph is still moving; tournament after tournament with an impressive number count are adding up and intensifying at a staggering pace.

Each match they play, they either go on to equal a past record or create a new one; a feat so singularly humongous that it has propelled them to a near unassailable stature in the realms of doubles’ tennis. 14 major titles – including a unique completion of a non-calendar slam in doubles along with an Olympic Gold medal – and over 90-ATP titles.

The Bryans are rightfully trying to claim a never-before achieved feat in the Open era, that of winning a doubles’ Grand Slam- an accomplishment last carried out in the year 1951 by Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman.

The partnership between Sedgman and McGregor is considered to be one of the best that the sport has ever seen. The duo won seven consecutive majors between 1951 and 1952- a record by itself that still remains unbroken till date. Though it still remains to be seen whether the Bryans are able to match the latter, the former remains well within their grasp. For, at this juncture, it’s inconceivable to think that the men’s doubles crown at Flushing Meadows this year would be bagged by any other team than the Bryans.

It’s not a statement made in over-confidence or arrogance but is a mere matter-of-fact justification of what would presumably follow and unfold in the coming few days. As the opposition whittles away, leaving the last handful of players both feared and held in awe about their doubles’ game – along with a deeper sense of wariness, in case of those partnerships which may be rare, but no less deadly – the Bryans are the ones on whom expectancy piles up in terms of going the extra mile.

Were it someone else, such expectancy may become quite encumbering; a situation that may even account for a shocking upset, but such is not the case as far as the Bryans go. This has been proven well beyond doubt too in the wake of their resounding, near-comeback victories in the third round and quarter-finals.

As in the case of these two victories – just as all their wins of the past – credit for the Bryans’ win also needs to be deservedly attributed to their seamless cohesion during points. Over the course of years, this ability of the Bryans has only gotten better with age and has allowed them to continue to dominate the world of doubles’ tennis in a manner far superior to any of their predecessors.

The way their play-making blends almost into each other, onlookers and audiences get an uncanny feeling that they aren’t two different players on-court but just one person covering the court in entirety. It’s then quite marvellous that these two have managed to sustain this exemplary and quite unseen facet of athleticism, extending it more than a mere token of professional existence as the years have spanned into a quality that enthrals and mesmerizes one and all.

If such has been the tale of their triumphs, at all those times, when the Bryans have been at the receiving end of losses with the requisite amount of title droughts doing the rounds, their rebounding from such surprisingly sprung defeats has always resulted in a tougher and fiercer tangibility of game-making.

Theirs is thus an incomparable partnership. One that stems from them being brothers – twins, for that matter – but goes into the very depth of professionalism, that no other player or players or partners can ever replicate.

The respect that they share towards each other, complimenting each other not just on-court but also away from it is perhaps the biggest secret to the Bryans’ success. It’s also a hallmark that may be quite unrivalled as far building the sport’s legacies go; something that the Bryans – and their fans – would love to cherish as much as the prospect of being potential icons of the doubles’ domain in men’s tennis.