If you ever saw Bob and Mike Bryan on the tennis court, you’ll remember that they were double trouble.
“Opponents described us as like a two-headed monster,” said Mike in an interview with CNN Sports.
Dominating men’s doubles for the best part of two decades, they were a dream partnership, identical “mirror” twins who were so in sync that they seemed to be reading each other’s minds. A lefty and a righty playing side by side, they became the most successful men’s doubles partnership of all time, winning 119 titles together, a haul that included 16 grand slams – including five US Opens – and an Olympic gold medal.
It was an enviable relationship which has led them all the way to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, but on the eve of their induction in Newport, Rhode Island, they admitted that their partnership wasn’t always so harmonious. “We had our blowouts,” recalled Bob to CNN. “Sometimes, it got physical on the court or after matches.”
That would be an understatement, as the brothers revealed what really went on away from the cameras and the cheering crowds. “I remember breaking one of Mike’s guitars,” said Bob, adding: “It got physical one time in Madrid where he threw some glass vitamins at me, bottles of vitamins that were shattering.”
