US Open Men's Doubles Players

The top ranked American duo of Bob and Mike Bryan will in all probability add another Grand Slam title to their exemplary 44 career wins. They have to be the hot favourites to take the ultimate Grand Slam doubles title of the 2008 calendar at Flushing Meadows, New York.

The twin brothers have been totally dominant in the 2007 season, winning 11 titles, including the Australian Open and the ATP Masters Series at Miami, Monte Carlo, Hamburg, Madrid, Paris, Las Vegas, Houston, LA, Washington and Basel.

They have also claimed their third consecutive ATP Stanford Doubles Race, and boast an unbelievable 76-9 win/loss record for the year. Had one of the brothers not been injured for the end of year Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, it is possible, nay, probable, that they would have clinched that title too.

The brothers, just 29 years of age, are hot on the heels of some of the most successful US Open men's doubles players of all time. Only the magnificent 'Woodies' - Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde with 61 wins, Peter Fleming and the outrageous John McEnroe with 57 wins and the South African pairing of Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan with 57 wins have accomplished more than the feisty American pair.

They were finalists at the US Open in 2003, only to lose to Jonas Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge in three sets, 5-7 6-0 7-5. In 2006 they came back to Flushing Meadows and triumphed over their nemesis, Bjorkman and new partner, Max Mirnyi. The victory must have been particularly sweet as they annihilated their opponents in two sets, 6-1 6-4.

Current defending champions Simon Aspelin and Julian Knowle cannot be discounted. They are ranked number three in the Stanford Doubles Race, and have had a blistering debut year together.

They lifted the 2007 US Open title as the number 10 seeds, causing a major upset by defeating top seeds and the number one team in the world, the Bryan brothers. They reached the semi-finals at Monte Carlo, Hamburg and Paris, and the quarterfinals at the Madrid Masters.

The 2006 US Open men's doubles champions, Martin Damm and Leander Paes, also stand a good chance of grabbing the crown yet again in 2008. Although they are not spring chickens any longer, they are still regarded as one of the most lethal combinations on the doubles circuit.

They joined forces at the beginning of the 2006 season, and apart from lifting the US Open title they were runners-up at Doha, clinched the event at Rotterdam, and won the Pacific Life Open, a Masters Series event in 2007. They ended their year with a very disappointing showing at the US Open, exiting after the first round.

Other contenders include Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett, Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi and Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor.