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.”

Ivo Karlovic fired down 29 aces and saved one match point to beat #NextGen star Karen Khachanov 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-3 on Friday for a place in the Erste Bank Open 500 semi-finals. Karlovic saved a match point at 5-6, Advantage, in the second set and will next face sixth seed and 2011 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Saturday.

The 37-year-old Croatian has now struck an ATP World Tour-best 1,081 aces, ahead of John Isner (1,046), this year. He is one of the nominees for the Comeback Player of the Year Award in the 2016 ATP World Tour Awards Presented by Moët & Chandon.

Andy Murray, who is vying to replace Novak Djokovic at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings over the next few weeks, takes on John Isner later today, while fifth seed and defending champion David Ferrer faces Viktor Troicki.

The Comeback Player of the Year Award in the 2016 ATP World Tour Awards Presented by Moët & Chandon recognises those players who have overcome injury in re-establishing themselves as one of the top players on the ATP circuit. The winner, as selected by the players, will be announced ahead of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Julien Benneteau

The Frenchman finished 2014 at a career-high No. 25 Emirates ATP Ranking, but dropped to No. 696 by January 2016 after undergoing abductor surgery and missing the last eight months of the 2015 season.

The All England Club, where he notched his first tour-level win since his comeback, provided the springboard for his rise back up the singles ranks. He climbed into the Top 200 by October, highlighted by quarter-final results in Metz and Los Cabos and a semi-final run at the Brest Challenger.

An outstanding doubles player, Benneteau also enjoyed a strong comeback alongside countryman Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Over a four-tournament stretch, the pair reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, semi-finals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and Aegon Championships, before finishing runners-up to Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in an all-French Wimbledon.

“It’s very special to be part of the Comeback Player of the Year category,” Benneteau said. “It’s always difficult to return at 100 per cent after a long break, especially when it’s later in one’s career so this means a lot to me.”

Juan Martin del Potro

The popular Argentine was previously voted by his peers as the Comeback Player of the Year in 2011 following a successful return from right wrist surgery. In 2013, the former World No. 4 finished back in the Top 10, only to be sidelined again – this time by a left wrist injury requiring multiple surgeries, causing him to drop outside the Top 1000 by the start of 2016.

Del Potro made his return in February at the Delray Beach Open and reached the semi-finals. He followed with a quarter-final result in Munich and semi-finals in Stuttgart, and quickly re-established himself as a force to be reckoned with on the sport’s biggest stages. In addition to ousting Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon, del Potro beat World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal en route to a silver medal at the Rio Olympics, made the quarter-finals of the US Open and won his first tour-level title since 2014 at the If Stockholm Open, securing his return to the Top 50. 

“I’m so happy to be nominated for this,” said the 28 year old. “It’s been a great season for me. I’ve been playing a lot of tournaments with great success. I got the silver medal in Rio, then made the quarter-finals in another Grand Slam. I think I deserve this gift, but all my colleagues also deserve it too. I am so happy just to be nominated.”

Ivo Karlovic

At the age of 37, the towering Croat recovered from a left knee injury to notch his first multi-title season since winning his first three tour-level titles in 2007.

Karlovic missed the opening months of the season, returning in April to reach the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open semi-finals. He made his biggest mark over the summer, when he secured titles on grass at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport and on hard court at the inaugural Abierto Mexicano Mifel in los Cabos. With the Newport crown, he became the oldest ATP World Tour singles champion since 1979.

Also over the summer, Karlovic reached the ATP World Tour 500 final at the Citi Open in Washington and set a US Open record with 61 aces in his first-round win.

“I’m really happy and honoured and grateful that I was nominated for this award,” said Karlovic. “It really means a lot to me because in the beginning of the year, for the first four months I was injured with my knee. It was hurting a lot. I had to do a lot of exercises, treatment and hard work. Especially now at my age, when every injury is huge, I didn’t know how it will all end up. To be able to do what I did after the injury this year, to be able to bounce back like this, was really unbelievable for me.”

Florian Mayer

After being sidelined close to two years due to a groin injury and a torn tendon in his right adductor, the 33 year old climbed from outside the Top 600 of the Emirates ATP Rankings in 2015 to the Top 60.

Mayer used success on home soil to spark his rise, qualifying into the tour-level events in Munich and Stuttgart, where he respectively reached the second round and quarter-finals, before claiming his biggest career title at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Halle. The former World No. 18 upset two Top 10 players, Kei Nishikori and Dominic Thiem, before defeating fellow German Alexander Zverev for the Gerry Weber Open title – his first since winning Bucharest in 2011.

In August, Mayer went on a 10-match winning run on the ATP Challenger Tour, claiming titles in Portoroz and Meerbusch, to rise to No. 58 going into the US Open.

“It was really a hard time for me, not playing tournaments and being injured,” he said. “I did a really nice comeback, being back to the Top 60, and I’m really happy about my performance in the past five months. It was a really nice and special feeling to win a big title at ATP World Tour 500 this year on grass in Germany.

“Tennis is getting so much faster and fitter every year, and it’s so hard to come back, especially if you have to come through the Challengers. The level of the game increases so much, and of course it was really helpful for me to win this big title with 500 points, so I can play the big events now.”

Top seeds Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau came out on top in a tight quarter-final on Thursday at the Swiss Indoors Basel, moving past Treat Huey/Max Mirnyi, 6-7(9), 6-4, 10-4.

Rojer/Tecau are looking for their second ATP World Tour doubles title of 2016, having already prevailed in Madrid. Awaiting them in the final four is the winner of the match between third seeds Raven Klaasen/Rajeev Ram and Robert Lindstedt/Michael Venus.

Read: Klaasen/Ram Qualify For Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

Second seeds Nicolas Mahut/Edouard Roger-Vasselin enjoyed a routine quarter-final win over David Marrero/Marcin Matkowski, 6-1, 6-4. They’ll compete for a place in the final over fourth seeds Marcel Granollers/Jack Sock, who advanced via retirement over Dominic Inglot/Florin Mergea, 7-5, 2-2.

View The Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London

At the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna, top seeds Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares came out on top in their quarter-final over qualifiers Guillermo Duran/Mariusz Fyrstenberg, 7-6(5), 6-4. Next up for them is Oliver Marach/Fabrice Martin, who recorded the upset of the day in doubles over third seeds Feliciano Lopez/Marc Lopez, 6-1, 6-2.

The final win of the day in Vienna went to third seeds Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo, who took out Steve Johnson/Philipp Petzschner, 7-5, 6-3. Awaiting them in the semi-fjnals is the winner of the match between second seeds Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan and Pablo Cuevas/Viktor Troicki.