U.S. Olympic Committee Honors Bryan Brothers as Team of the Year
October 24, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has announced its annual award recipients for the 2012-13 Olympic and Paralympic athletes and teams of the year, which included the U.S. men’s doubles tennis team of Bob & Mike Bryan, who were honored as Team of the Year. The six awards will be presented during an awards reception in conjunction with the 100 Days Out Celebration to commemorate the final countdown to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games on Oct. 29 in New York.
The all-time winningest doubles team in tennis history and number one doubles team in the world, Bob and Mike Bryan captured the ‘Golden Slam’ after winning the doubles title at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships. With the win, the Bryan brothers became the first men’s doubles team in the Open-era to hold all four major titles—including the 2012 U.S. Open, 2013 Australian Open, 2013 French Open and 2013 Wimbledon Championship—along with the 2012 Olympic Gold Medal. The win marked the Bryans’ 15th Grand Slam title and extended their reign atop the ATP doubles rankings, dating back to September 2012. The pair continued its winning ways at the 2013 Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series event in Cincinnati, where it claimed its 92nd tour-level title–the most doubles titles by the same team in tennis history. With the win, the Bryans clinched the year-end number one ATP doubles team ranking for a record ninth time and fifth consecutive season. It was the earliest a year-end number one ranking had been ever been secured.
