Flushing Meadows, NY – Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek followed their upset of the Bryan brothers with a victory Sunday in the men's doubles final at the U.S. Open.
The 40-year-old Paes and 35-year-old Stepanek denied Mike and Bob Bryan a calendar-year Grand Slam with a three-set win in the semifinals Thursday, then rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 triumph on Sunday over the duo of Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares.
Paes earned his eighth career Grand Slam men's doubles title and second with Stepanek, who claimed his second. The two paired to win the 2012 Australian Open, beating the Bryans.
Peya and Soares were appearing in their first-ever Grand Slam men's doubles final.
Paes and Stepanek dominated from the start, winning the first five games of the match. A break of serve to start the second set gave the duo a quick advantage and they never relinquished serve the rest of the way.
Peya appeared to be hampered by a back injury midway through the second set. He was serving at 1-3 and took an injury timeout, then struggled to continue as his serves continually lacked velocity.
Paes, who hit the winning backhand volley on match point, and Stepanek split the first prize of $460,000.
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