Brotherly love: Zverevs inspire one another to succeed

The Williams sisters and the Bryan brothers have dominated the sport for years, but now it's time to also embrace the Zverevs. The German brothers have been giving the world plenty to talk about at the Australian Open thanks to some incredible tennis, combined with an extremely close relationship.

The younger of the two, 19-year-old Alexander "Sascha" Zverev gave Rafael Nadal a real run for his money in the third round with a five-set classic. Ranked No. 24 and with an ATP title to his name, Zverev has established himself as a top star, with Nadal even calling him the future and present of the sport.

Alexander Zverev has benefited from having a role model close to home in his 29-year-old brother, world No. 50-ranked Mischa. The elder Zverev has been in his brother's shadow, but now, he has burst through with a fourth-round run in Melbourne.

He first made headlines last week by coming back from two sets down to upset John Isner, and then stunned everyone by taking out world No. 1 Andy Murray on Saturday. His younger brother was watching closely.

The two have a lot in common, and are both coached by their father Alexander Sr. and mother Irina, but their games are opposite. Alexander posses a modern style of baseline-only aggression, while left-handed Mischa is more old school, rushing the net and serve and volleying often. The age gap may have affected their game styles, but not their bond. Just check out this throwback ATP feature from 5 years ago.

"I know when to be his brother, when to be his friend, when to give him some advice or just let him be. I think it's something that actually helps us a lot," Mischa Zverev said Saturday. "He's a lot younger. Obviously, he doesn't have the experience, but he's very, very positive... You need that kind of personality next to you.

"When things are not going your way, you have somebody who is just always positive, always believing."

Mischa Zverev knows a thing or two about things not going well. Injuries curtailed his progress for years, even setting his ranking back to No. 1,067 in 2015.

"I was playing pretty well when I was 21 years old. I was No. 45 in the world," Mischa Zverev said. "Then I had a couple injuries. But then also maybe I didn't focus enough on tennis. Maybe I didn't work hard enough."

He has said that witnessing and taking part in the successes of his younger brother kept his spirits high and made him want to come back even more.

"I can tell you it wasn't easy when I came back from wrist surgery two years ago. It was my brother who said, 'You can make it back, you can be Top 100 again, be a great player,'' Mischa Zverev said. "I have to say thank you to him quite a lot.

"Even when I feel like I'm not doing well, he's playing finals in Halle, beating Roger [Federer] in the semis, it just gives me the positive emotions that I take with me to the next tournament and do well there."

He'll benefit from some more help from Alexander as he's set to face Federer on Tuesday for a spot in the quarterfinals.