Bryan brothers win Australian Open doubles title

MELBOURNE, Australia – American twins Bob and Mike Bryan won their fifth Australian Open doubles title and 10th Grand Slam championship, beating India's Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday.

The Bryans have held the No. 1 ranking in doubles for the past eight years. They have also won the U.S Open three times and the French Open and Wimbledon once.

The Bryan brothers, won the Australian title in 2006, '07, '09 and last year, didn't lose their serve and twice broke the Indian team. They celebrated the win with their familiar leaping chest bump.

The twins already hold the record for the most tournament titles of any men's doubles team in the Open Era, which they stretched to 68, seven better than retired Australians Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge.

They are also closing in on the "Woodies'" collection of 11 Grand Slam trophies. They are within two of the Open Era record of 12 majors, held by another Australian pair of John Newcombe and Tony Roche.

Bhupathi and Paes were a formidable combination, but their most recent Grand Slam tournament together was in 2002.

The Indian pair were seeking a career Grand Slam, each having won the French Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon either together or with other partners.

"We have tons of respect for those guys, they are legends, they are marquee, they can only make our game better," Bob Bryan said. "It was just great to have the 'Indian Express' back on the doubles court. It was an extra-special feeling out there."

Paes said the Bryans played "the perfect match."

"If they had not served 83 percent first serves, but maybe 76 percent, it could have maybe been a different story," Paes said. "Today we lost to the best team on the planet."

Bhupathi and Paes have had their differences over the years, but are committed to playing together.

"We are committed to play a few more tournaments," he said. "The way we are feeling, the way we are playing, I think there is a good chance we will come back next year."