PTI

New York, Sept 11: Leander Paes won his first Men's doubles title at a grand slam in five years by wresting the US Open crown with Martin Damm of the Czech Republic here on Saturday.

Paes and Damm scored a shock 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-3 victory over second seeds Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Max Mirnyi of Belarus in the final at the Flushing Meadows. Paes, 33, last registered a grand slam triumph in 2001 at the French Open with Mahesh Bhupathi, with whom he also won the French Open and the Wimbledon in 1999.

This is also Damm's first ever major title. Paes has also won three mixed doubles titles in grand slams. Paes and Damm pocketed $400,000 as winner's prize money. The lengthy opening set was a power struggle that stayed on serve to force a tiebreak.

Even then, Bjorkman and Mirnyi just barely slid by. The 6'5" Mirnyi, nicknamed "the beast," used his enormous reach to take care of some high overhead shots. While across the net, Paes clinched numerous points by poaching. Both teams were equally fierce on their serves, but Bjorkman and Mirnyi's 15 unforced errors and 9 double faults cost them the match. In the second set, the gap started to widen.

The expressive Paes, who was slamming down his racket in frustration in the first set, now pumped his fist, initiated chest pumps with Damm, and performed erratic dance moves as the two nudged their way ahead in the second set. In the third set, both teams fought it out until Paes and Damm, up 4-3, managed to snatch a break to serve for the match. When Damm pounded back an overhead for a sideline winner to secure the title, a jubilant Paes bounded into his arms.