Bob Bryan out for 2018, Brothers' US Open streak to end

Bob and Mike Bryan have competed as a doubles pair at the US Open every year since 1995. They have won five titles in 23 New York appearances, with their record-breaking fifth trophy doubling as the pair’s 100th ATP title.

That 23-year run will end this year, Mike confirmed this week, as Bob will miss the remainder of the 2018 season due to hip surgery that will require six months of recovery. The younger Bryan twin has been absent from the ATP Tour since May, when he was forced to retire in the doubles final of the Madrid Masters.

In Bob’s absence, Mike has teamed with five partners over the course of six tournaments, highlighted by a Wimbledon trophy run with Jack Sock.

According to the Washington Post, Mike now plans to continue with Sock for the rest of 2018. 

With the Wimbledon victory, Mike became the oldest No. 1-ranked player in ATP World Tour history at age 40, almost 15 years after he first topped the rankings.

Despite competing for less than five months out of the year, the Bryan brothers sit at No. 2 in the ATP Doubles Race to London after winning a trio of Masters events and reaching the Australian Open semifinals earlier this year. 

The Bryan-Sock pairing is ninth in the race, and would qualify for the year-end ATP Finals as it stands. The Top 8 teams in the world are invited to the year’s culminating event, and with Bob out for the year, the new-look pairing would claim the eighth and final spot.  

The Bryans hope to compete as a pair again in 2019, but for now, it will be interesting to see how far Mike can go with his new partner. Though Sock is ranked No. 14 on the singles tour, he has struggled in 2018 and is significantly off that pace this season, ranked No. 163 in the ATP Race to London.

Though he has prioritized singles throughout his career, the Nebraska native has always displayed doubles prowess when he has played. He now has the opportunity of a lifetime as he looks to further develop his on-court chemistry with one of the best doubles players of all time.