What makes a Champion – Bob and Mike Bryan – Bryan Brothers – Record Breakers

Bryan Brothers Record Breakers © Getty Images

Here at TennisAssist.com we are very interested in what makes a champion. What sets them apart from every one else. Bob and Mike Bryan also know as “The Bryan Brothers” are holding a record that in all reality won’t be broken for a very long time. The interesting part about this achievement is that the previous record was also amazing (held by “The Woodies”) Champions are pushing each other to greater heights.

The Bryan Brothers now hold the record for the most ATP Tour men’s doubles titles not just as a team but as twin brothers. It’s that partnership and brotherly bond that in my mind truly makes these guys extra Champions.

Champions surround themselves with champions right? Well if it were that easy there would be a lot of champions out there. Champions also have role models. These so called role models are usually someone very high in statue and generally are “Champions”. The Bryan Brothers role model or “Team to Beat” was the famous Australian pairing of Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge also known as “The Woodies”. Just 6 months after the Woodies won their 61st and final team title, the Bryan’s held aloft their first trophy which they won in Memphis, thus beginning a ritual that would become all too familiar on the ATP Men’s World Tour.

So once something has been achieved the instincts in human nature step in and believe that it is possible. Take the four minute mile. Up until may of 1954 when England’s Roger Bannister broke the four minute mark it was claimed that a 4-minute mile was once thought to be impossible. And just 46 days later on June 21 it was broken again and again on August 7. Champions aren’t limited by what has been achieved. They look beyond that and generally strive to create their own records.

Another tennis example of following a role model would be again back in the 1950?s when a very ambitious John Newcombe who at just 12 years of age was watching his mentors and fellow countrymen Lew Hoad and Ken Rosewall. These two role models were only 7 years older than Newcombe yet they had made such an impression on him that he now had a dream to follow. That dream was to play Davis Cup for Australia and to compete at Wimbledon. As the history books show Newcombe went on to do much more than just that.

In my opinion Champions also feed off other Champions! By that I mean they all bring out the best in each other. Would Federer be as good as he is without the likes of a Nadal who is always in his rear view mirror? (and sometimes in front of course as the rankings change) If Sampras only acheived half as  much in Grand Slams would Federer be only have as good? Would John McEnroe have been as good as he was without the likes of Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg and Ivan Lendl and vice verse?

A book by Professor Allan Snyder quotes “Champions have the courage to break rules and by that I don’t mean in a bad way. Obviously, to be a champion it is critical to know the foundations of the discipline, whether it is the mathematical structure of physics, the rules for serving a hamburger or the appropriate routines for athletic training. But champions seem to differentiate themselves from others with equivalent training by having the courage to experiment with the rules and to invent new ways of doing things. Even in sports, it takes courage to break with a conventional training regime.”

Most people are born with talent but the majority of people just don’t know about their talent or how to maximise it. Champions project enthusiasm that not only keeps them fired up but also excites those around them. It may be someone at your local club, office building or sporting grounds. A champion is also an opportunist who will exploit any opportunity to make his or her dream a reality.

The more talented child may win more matches in their earlier years but they will often not be prepared to devote themselves sufficiently and instead become content with where they are or lazy whereas the less gifted kids develop the greater wish to succeed.  The capacity of the person to endure , to never give up the ambition, the never say die attitude, is, in my opinion and many others , the key factor. Hard work will take you further than just talent alone.