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 Bryans Capture 49th Team Title & Sixth Slam Crown American twins Bob and Mike Bryan captured their second US Open title and the sixth Grand Slam crown of their career, after defeating No. 7 seeds Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and Indian Leander Paes 7-6(5), 7-6(10) in one hour and 54 minutes on Friday. It was the pair’s first career meeting. The Bryans, who captured the 2005 US Open title and finished runner-up in 2003, were appearing in their 13th Grand Slam final. They remain fourth in the all-time doubles Grand Slam title leaders of the Open Era behind Australians John Newcombe and Tony Roche (7), Americans Peter Fleming and John McEnroe (7) and Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde (11). "It feels really sweet to get the last Grand Slam of the year," said Mike Bryan. "It's been a while since we've been in a Grand Slam final." The Bryans are now on course to clinch the Stanford ATP Doubles Race for the fourth consecutive year and for the fifth time overall, after finishing as the No. 1-ranked team in 2003, 2005-07. The Bryans will replace Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic as the No. 1 team in the year-long Stanford ATP Doubles Race on Monday. Individually, Bob and Mike move back into a tie for No. 1 in the Stanford ATP Doubles Rankings, replacing Nestor, who went to No. 1 after winning Wimbledon with Zimonjic. Bob Bryan said of their title run: "We got better [with] every match, and we played an awesome semi. I thought we even played better today. Leander was magical, as always. In a big match you know he's always going to bring his best stuff. He was hitting some crazy shots, and Lukas was ripping away. We had to play our best stuff to beat those guys." "[A win like this] definitely make us hungrier," said Mike Bryan. "We're going to work harder. We still love playing the game of tennis and still love doing what we do." Watch the Bryans' signature Romanian Davis Cup Drill in Form & Fitness 
Dlouhy and Paes earned the first service break on Bob's serve in the third game of the first set and while the Bryan brothers were unable to convert two break point opportunities in the fourth game, the 30-year-old Californians did get back on level terms at 3-3. In a tense tie-break, the Bryans secured a mini break for a 4-3 lead and were made to sweat at 6-3 as two set went begging but the duo was able to wrap up the opening set in 49 minutes when Bob delivered a body-blow serve into Dlouhy that went unreturned.
Both teams exchanged breaks of serve early in the second set, which was once again decided by a tie-break. The Bryans moved into a 4-2 lead and held their first championship point at 6/5 but Dlouhy and Paes got back on level terms only to squander four sets points. Mike Bryan, who had served brilliantly throughout the match, double faulted to hand Dlouhy and Paes their second set point at 8/7, but Paes followed with a double of his own. Down 9/10, Mike Bryan nailed a huge forehand return down the line past a wrong-footed Paes to deny Dlouhy and Paes on their fourth and final set point chance. The Bryans secured a decisive break on the 21st point of the tie-break and then Mike hit a big unreturned serve at Dlouhy on their third match point to clinch their fifth trophy of the season and 49th career team title. It was the Bryans’ first Grand Slam final since 2007 Wimbledon, and they have reached at least one Grand Slam final per season for the past six years. In 2008 the twins have also won titles at ATP Masters Series events in Miami, Rome and Cincinnati in addition to capturing the Barcelona crown. They also won the bronze medal for the United States at the Olympic Games in Beijing last month. The Florida residents improved to 60-14 on the season. 
Watch Leander Paes' pre-match warmup routine in Form & Fitness
Dlouhy and Paes, who made their Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros in May, were competing in their first Grand Slam final as a team. The 25-year-old Dlouhy had previously appeared in two major finals at 2007 Roland Garros and at 2007 US Open with compatriot Pavel Vizner. The 35-year-old Paes, who captured the mixed doubles title with Cara Black on Thursday (d. J. Murray/Huber), was bidding to win his fifth Grand Slam doubles title in his ninth final. The former doubles World No. 1 (June 21, 1999), was appearing in his fourth US Open final. The Calcutta native captured the title in 2006 with Martin Damm (d. Bjorkman-Mirnyi) and finished runner-up in 1999 (w/ Bhupathi) and 2004 (w/ Rikl). Wednesday: Bryans To Face Dlouhy/Paes For Sixth Slam Title
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