Australia Open remains elusive for Paes-Bhupathi

The Australian Open remained elusive for India’s Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi as the re-united Indian Express lost to Mike and Bob Bryan of the US in the men’s doubles final at the Melbourne Park here on Saturday.

The third seeded Indian pair, who were playing in a Grand Slam after nine years, lost 3-6, 4-6 to the top seeded American twins in the summit clash that lasted a little over one hour.

The Bryan brothers won their fifth Australian Open trophy while Paes and Bhupathi for the second time lost the title.

After separating, they had reached the final of the Australian Open with different partners, but could complete the career Slam.

Paes made the final with Czech Republic’s Martin Damm in 2006 while Bhupathi ended runners-up with Bahamas’ Mark Knowles in 2009.

Bhupathi said he would continue playing with Paes in the remaining season.

“There is a reason why Mike and Bob are number one team. When they have a first serve percentage of 83, it is impossible to beat them. I thank my partner (Paes), it took the best team in the planet to stop this train. Looking forward to playing with you a lot more this year,” Bhupathi said.