Leander Paes dream of claiming his maiden Australian Open men's double title remained unfulfilled as he and Martin Damm lost to Bob and Mike Bryan of US in the final in Melbourne on Saturday.
Paes and Damm of the Czech Republic lost a thrilling three-setter 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 in an hour and 59 minutes to give the Bryan brothers their third grand slam crown and the first at Melbourne Park.
The Indo-Czech pair had eight break points in the deciding set but the Americans proved an impregnable force.
Paes has won six grand slam titles including three in mixed doubles but is yet to win a men's doubles title since his French Open triumph with Mahesh Bhupathi in 2001.
For the American pair, the 2005 ATP Double's Race no 1 team, it proved to be third time lucky as they had ended up on the losing side in their earlier two final appearances here in 2004 and 2005.
Bob and Mike, only the second team to appear in six successive grand slam finals in the Open era, collected the winners check of $440,000 while Paes and Damm earned $210,000.
{{/usCountry}}Bob and Mike, only the second team to appear in six successive grand slam finals in the Open era, collected the winners check of $440,000 while Paes and Damm earned $210,000.
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