USA Men's Doubles Year in Review

The guys that have been carrying the flag of American men's tennis for a couple years now all on their own now are of course Mike and Bob Bryan. Most special perhaps of their 11 titles in 2013 was their second ever French Open title (pictured) and first in 10 years. The Bryans reached 15 finals in 2013 going 11-4, winning three grand slams (Australian, Wimbledon and French) and ending the year #1 by a country mile. This was arguably their most dominant season yet and they are showing no signs of slowing down. It wasn't a perfect season, though, and perhaps their biggest disappointment was a loss at the US Open that cost them the calendar Grand Slam, and an 0-2 record in Davis Cup. Doubles starts and ends with the Bryan brothers and it will hopefully remain that way for years to come.


The Bryans won 11 titles on tour (Paris indoors, Cincinnati, Wimbledon, Queen's, Roland Garros, Rome, Madrid, Indian Wells, Memphis, Australian Open and Sydney) and lost in 4 finals (London Finals, Valencia, Monte Carlo, Houston. Besides that there were some other ATP final results. Eric Butorac was the champion in Kuala Lumpur and the finalist in Munich and Brisbane. James Blake and Jack Sock teamed up to win Delray Beach and make the finals of Memphis. Nick Monroe was a finalist in Buenos Aires and Umag, and was a champion in Bastad. Scott Lipsky won both of his finals appearances in Oeiras and Halle. Despite spending most of the year struggling with a heart problem and anxiety, Mardy Fish did win the title in Washington. Finally, Tim Smyczek and Rhyne Williams teamed up to make the finals in Newport.

The top 20:

1. Bob and Mike Bryan 1 (also #1 in 2012)
3. Scott Lipsky 31 (25 in 2012)
4. Eric Butorac 47 (41 in 2012)
5. Nick Monroe 53 (79 in 2012)
6. James Blake 58 (148 in 2012)
7. Rajeev Ram 78 (44 in 2012)
8. Jack Sock 103 (168 in 2012)
9. Austin Krajicek 104 (146 in 2012)
10. James Cerretani 113 (77 in 2012)
11. Steve Johnson 122 (167 in 2012)
12. Mardy Fish 127 (731 in 2012)
13. Tennys Sandgren 133 (163 in 2012)
14. Bradley Klahn 144 (578 in 2012)
15. Rhyne Williams 162 (224 in 2012)
16. Tim Smyczek 183 (463 in 2012)
17. Vahid Mirzadeh 185 (258 in 2012)
18. John Isner 193 (94 in 2012)
19. Sam Querrey 220 (45 in 2012)
20. Denis Zivkovic 226 (221 in 2012)

It's encouraging to see a lot of these young guys building off their ranking in 2012. Of course the older vets like Lipsky, Butorac, Ram and Cerretani have all dropped a good bit. It's also interesting to see that after a fairly active 2012 in doubles, "Quisner" really focused on singles this year. James Blake, now retired, picked up some nice cash ending the year at 58 which was a huge climb.

Player(s) of the Year: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan

I have a hard time believing this won't remain this way until the day they retire. They are still in their prime and have cemented their legacy as the best doubles team of all time. With 93 titles as a team they still need 7 more to reach the 100 milestone.

Most Improved Player of the Year: Nick Monroe

Monroe was a big surprise this year. At 31 he's been on tour a long time and never made a huge splash so this was a bit unexpected. But out of nowhere he teamed up with German Simon Stadler and compiled great results for a really impressive year. He finished at 53, just two off his career high, and made the first three finals of his ATP career. His title in Bastad is the only ATP level title he's ever won.

Comeback Player of the Year: James Blake

JB is a pretty good doubles player and his career high ranking was 31, but after dropping off to 148 it was nice to see him make a little run to finish off his career with a solid ranking of 58. He made two ATP finals and played really well as a team with Jack Sock. His victory in Delray Beach was the last ATP title of his career.