Bryan brothers retain Australian title

MELBOURNE, Jan 27 (Reuters) American brothers Mike and Bob Bryan retained their Australian Open men's doubles title today with a 7-5 7-5 victory over Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi.

The 28-year-old American twins and top seeds secured their fifth grand slam title in 93 minutes on Rod Laver Arena, ending a losing streak of three matches against Swede Bjorkman and Mirnyi of Belarus, the second seeds.

''It's a great start to the year for us,'' Mike Bryan said after beating their opponents for the second time in a grand slam final.

The brothers, in their fourth straight Melbourne Park final, clinched a tight opening set in 43 minutes and did not face a single break point throughout the match.

The Americans always looked the sharper of the two pairings and pounced on Bjorkman's serve in game 12 of the second set.

Bjorkman and Mirnyi fended off five match points before Mike clinched the match with a forehand winner to spark the celebrations.

The 34-year-old Bjorkman, who has won 50 career doubles titles, said he would consider having one more tilt at the Melbourne Park title.

''It would be a pleasure to come back maybe one more year,'' the Swede said.

REUTERS PM PM1406