The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER an impressive career in which he and Daniel Nestor were considered one of the greatest doubles teams ever, Mark Knowles is now spending a lot of time as a colour commentator on television and watching the progress of the greatest team to play the game - American identical twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan.

On Sunday, the 36-year-old Bryans achieved a major milestone, becoming the first team to win an historic 100th title as they captured their fifth US Open trophy in Flushing Meadows, New York, as the top seeds prevailed with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Spanish No.11 seeds Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, the same day as American Serena Williams joined an exclusive club in winning her 28th Grand Slam women’s singles title.

“I didn’t watch the (the men’s doubles) final, but it was incredible,” said Knowles, who was a part of the broadcast television crew up until Thursday. “I was a long for most of the ride as one of their biggest rivals, playing them from the beginning of my career to the end.

“It’s incredible. The record is amazing. They’ve really taken doubles to a whole new level and they look like they’re not going to slow down. So it’s impressive.”

Knowles, who celebrated his 43rd birthday on Thursday, retired in 2012 after a stellar 21-year career in which he won 55 doubles titles and remembered playing against the Bryans about 45 times, only to have won about 17 of the showdowns, most of them with Nestor.

During a span from 1994 to 2007, Knowles and Nestor were a formidable combination, having played some of the greatest matches ever, including a victory over the Bryans in the semifinals at Wimbledon in three straight tie breakers.

However, Knowles went on to team up with Mahesh Bhupathi from India in 2009 where they lost to the Bryans in the finals of the Australian Open in 2009.

“It was a big match obviously,” Knowles said. “We won the first set and we had a lot of chances to win it in straight sets, but we were not able to win the second set and we lost the third. It was one of the more painful losses for sure because we played better tennis for two out of the three sets. That’s why they’re such a great team. They fight very hard. They play well when they’re ahead and even better when they are behind.

“So I had a lot of memorable matches against them. So I beat them in the semifinals of Wimbledon and lost to them there in the final as well. I think more of my memorable matches, unfortunately, were losses and maybe that’s because you remember your losses more than your wins. So I had some painful losses against them. They’ve taken some years off my life.”

Now that he’s riding it out in the sunset, enjoying life with his family - wife Dawn, and three children, Graham, Brody and Presley in their home in Dallas - Knowles said he’s not sure how much further he could have been in his career if he was still playing, especially with Nestor.

“Nestor and I had a special opportunity to go down as one of the greatest teams ever for sure record wise,” he said. “I think the only regret is that we were never able to continue because of various situations that popped up. I think it also speaks for the unique advantage that the Bryans have.

“No doubles team really stays together that long. Nestor and I were probably one of the longest teams to stay together. I think we won 40-plus titles together, so we had a great run together, but not as long as the Bryans. Teams now-a-days don’t stay together. For one reason or the other, either they upgrade or change very quickly if their results ain’t great.”

As far as Knowles sees it, the Bryans’ record will be impeccable.

“They’re great and they really stretched it out there, but also I don’t think you will have another set of twins that good and a team that will stay together for that long and not have that type of allegiance to each other. Doubles is a very cut throat world. It’s what have you done for me lately. It’s not usually a whole body of work. They have an unique advantage and there’s no coincidence why they are the greatest team right now.”

But whenever the conversation is held around doubles, you can bet to hear the names of Knowles and Nestor in the mix.

“Our record was pretty spectacular. We had a very good record and we probably could have built on that,” Knowles said. “Nestor continued to do well with other partners and I did well with Bhupathi. So both of us did well with other partners. So it only goes to show that we were a great doubles team.

“But I’m not sure if we will ever get another great doubles team like the Bryans. They’re related. They’re twins and they have a job security.”

Without any official job on his hand as a retired player, Knowles, a five-time Olympian and a 14-year member of the Davis Cup for the Bahamas, is currently engaged part-time in colour commentary on the tennis network and playing occasionally in some very small exhibition matches whenever he’s not participating in his children’s sporting pursuits on the sideline as a coach.

In the meantime, he is contemplating the future of his Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational, a charity event that he started in 2001 where he’s brought some of the top players in the world, including Nestor and the Bryans, to the Bahamas for a week of activities.