The Bryan brothers recorded their team’s 1,000th match win Friday night at the Erste Bank Open 500, and afterwards celebrated the milestone by sharing a 75cm traditional Viennese Sacher Cake with fans.

“It’s big enough everyone could have a piece,” said Mike Bryan, following the on-court presentation by Vienna Tournament Director Herwig Straka and former Austrian No. 1 Thomas Muster.

“We’re happy to get 1,000 in Vienna,” said Mike. “This is going to be a special city for us until we die. And it’s good to see Thomas Muster, one of our idols, come out. That means a lot, we are honoured to have his presence on the court. We want to thank Herwig, the Tournament Director for having us here at Vienna, very special place, this court is pretty awesome and it’s great to see all the fans here come out. This is going to be very memorable forever for us.”

The Bryans prevailed against Pablo Cuevas and Viktor Troicki 6-4, 4-6, 10-7 to move into the Vienna semi-finals, where they will face Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.

“We’ve been looking at this number 1000 for a couple of years and it’s been a big goal of ours, to do it tonight in Vienna in front of all of you guys is amazing!”  Bob told the crowd. “We really appreciate the support, we really appreciate you guys staying for the doubles and giving us some love, and like Mike said this city will always have a place in our heart!

Earlier Friday, Barclays ATP World Tour Finals hopefuls Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin secured their place in the Vienna final by ousting top seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 1-6, 6-3, 11-9. Marach and Martin are No. 11 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London. Two places remain up for grabs in the elite eight-team field with just over a week to go in the regular season.

View Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London

Basel: Lindstedt/Venus Reach SFs

Robert Lindstedt and Michael Venus advanced to the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel after beating Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram 6-4, 7-5. Klaasen/Ram are No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London and qualified Thursday for their first Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Lindstedt and Venus next face top seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau for a place in the final, while second seeds Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin meet Marcel Granollers and Jack Sock in the other doubles semi-final.

Up to nine players could be in contention to battle for the final two spots at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals when the regular season concludes with the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris next week.

As of Friday night, with Ivo Karlovic and David Ferrer both advancing to the Erste Bank Open 500 semi-finals in Vienna, there are actually 10 players within mathematical reach of Tomas Berdych, who holds the current minimum qualification points total of 2,880. But because Ferrer and Karlovic must win the Vienna title to stay in London contention – and only one player can do that – one or both of them will be eliminated from contention before Paris begins.

Additionally, Marin Cilic, who is alive in the Basel semi-finals, could pass Berdych and raise the bar to a minimum 3,090 points required for qualification before Paris begins. Should the Croat win Basel and play at least one match in Paris (guaranteeing himself 10 points for a first-round loss), Karlovic, Ferrer and Dimitrov would be eliminated from London contention regardless of their own performances.

Ferrer would have been eliminated from London contention today had he not saved a match point against Viktor Troicki in the Vienna quarter-finals.

View Draw

The battle for the two London slots is a fluid situation, where this weekend’s performances of Cilic and three Vienna semi-finalists – Karlovic, Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – will ultimately determine how many players will still be in London contention when Paris begins Monday. As of Friday night there are 10 players still alive in the London hunt: Dominic Thiem, Berdych, David Goffin, Cilic, Roberto Bautista Agut, Tsonga, Lucas Pouille, Grigor Dimitrov, Ferrer and Karlovic.

Thiem, currently 325 points ahead of Berdych in the Emirates ATP Race to London, will open his Paris campaign against the winner of the first-round clash between Philipp Kohlschreiber and Jack Sock. A potential third-round meeting with Richard Gasquet awaits.

Several potential third-round matches could be critical in determining who is eliminated from contention. Seventh seed Berdych could meet No. 10 seed Bautista Agut (2,340) – who as of now must reach the final to have a London shot – while No. 13 seed Pouille (2,106) will likely need to advance past World No. 2 Andy Murray in the third-round – and go on to win the title – to keep alive his hopes.

Cilic (2,770), who passed Goffin (2,690) for 10^th spot in the Emirates ATP Race To London Friday, is on a third-round collision course with his Belgian rival. Cilic will square off against Karlovic or a qualifier, while Goffin plays the winner of the opening round between Nicolas Mahut and Martin Klizan. Top seed Novak Djokovic is looming as a likely quarter-final opponent in that section.

In the bottom half of the Paris draw, No. 11 seed Tsonga, who plays Karlovic in the Vienna semi-finals, could face a must-win third-round meeting with fifth seed Kei Nishikori.

As points stand October 28, Pouille, Karlovic, Ferrer and Dimitrov would need to win the Paris title just to have a chance.

Paris will also see Andy Murray continue his quest to displace Djokovic as World No. 1. Should Murray go on to win Vienna, he would overtake Djokovic if he wins Paris and the Serb does not reach the final.

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan have conquered Everest: the first team to record 1,000 doubles match wins. A little more than two years since they celebrated their 100th title, the twins have set another milestone that may stand the test of time. “Very few players will achieve it,” says Nenad Zimonjic. “In the next 100 years, you’ll still be counting on one hand. Their longevity and number of titles will be so tough to break.”

Their achievement has spanned 19 seasons, from their first victory over Mark Keil and Dave Randall at Atlanta in 1998 to today’s win over Pablo Cuevas and Viktor Troicki in the Erste Bank Open 500 quarter-finals. Their story is a product of longevity, commitment, and a desire to adapt and evolve. A dedication to the sport – and, importantly, each other.

In the cut and thrust nature of professional doubles, with regular team changes, the Bryan brothers have had no way out. From the practice court with their father, Wayne, via Dick Gould’s ‘farm’ at Stanford and onto the ATP World Tour, the team for life always rode out any storm or the loss of morale. “They force opponents to ‘beat’ them and most of all they believe,” says Mark Woodforde. “Bob has the big lefty serve, Mike has the solid and consistent return. They help each other out at net, they have great reflexes, they can play on the baseline and they can switch sides if necessary.”

The Bryans 11-year partnership with David Macpherson, which ended this summer, reaped 89 of their record 112 titles – including 15 of their 16 Grand Slams and 33 of their 36 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns. “Part of their greatness is that they are equal,” says Macpherson. “They have slightly different games and maximum strengths, but they are both equal on the court. They tell one another what they think, spurring one another on. They force each other to be the best they can be.”

It can be said that they have conquered the game of doubles like no other team, combining trust, good communication and synergy, attitude and energy. “You knew you had to be ready, as they were very good frontrunners,” says Jonas Bjorkman. “Their energy level would rise with an early break. Mentally you had to prepare differently. Their intimidation was more about their energy on court and they continue to play with an edge.”

The complete team: committed to the sport on the court and off it, as great ambassadors for the global promotion of tennis.

MOST DOUBLES TEAM MATCH WINS IN OPEN ERA

BRYANS MATCH WINS MILESTONES

TRIBUTES FROM FORMER WORLD NO. 1s

DANIEL NESTOR: “One thousand team match wins is amazing. Just being together for that, through so many ups and downs isn’t easy. I played in a 10-year partnership [with Mark Knowles], which seems like an eternity, but it was very successful. Like any relationship, you go through some tough times so for them to stick at it and play at such a high level is amazing. They’ve been the best team for pretty much 15 years. Early on we were rivals, and we’re still rivals, but now we’ve become good friends. Sometimes your greatest rivals, tend to be your greatest friends.”

NENAD ZIMONJIC: “It means that 1,000 times they were so happy. To win this many matches is amazing, only Nestor has achieved it so far. They have also won the most titles so far. They are amazing players and athletes, so dedicated to the sport. Without this, they would not have recorded so many wins. As brothers it isn’t easy supporting each other all the time, being on the same page. The reason why they won so many matches together is they stuck at it, they grew as players and as a team, and kept improving. Winning 1,000 matches means your level is amazing, we’re talking more than 15 years.”

MARK KNOWLES: “One thousand team match wins is incredible. It is reflective of their tremendous success but more importantly their devotion and professionalism towards their craft. I do know that they have taken a lot of money and titles from me! They have brought an incredible professionalism to the doubles game. They constantly strive to get better every week regardless of their accomplishments. They remain hungry and committed to bringing 100 per cent effort on and off the court. They have been the leading brand in doubles and are responsible for much of its popularity.”

MARK WOODFORDE: “What a milestone! An amazing feat indeed in reaching 1,000 wins. My deepest congratulations to the Bryans, who continue to push the boundary in the doubles game as the winning-est duo ever. This achievement will shine bright for decades to come. Macca helped fill in the holes and strengthen the weaponry whilst setting fresh goals. I truly believe that Macca’s vital input ‘made’ the Bryans. Doubles has undergone a transition period. Thanks to the Bryans, the doubles game has remained in the spotlight with the records they have accumulated. They have kept it relevant and exciting. They’ve inspired all levels of tennis players to step on the doubles court.”