Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi are runners-up at US Open

Guning for their first Grand Slam title, Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq fought their hearts out but had to be content with a runners-up trophy at the US Open as the Indo-Pak Express lost the men's doubles final 6-7(6) 6-7 (3) to Americans top seeds Mike and Bob Bryan here today.

Bopanna and Qureshi, 16th seeds, did not look like a team playing their first ever Grand Slam final as they made the world number one pair work hard for points and played enthralling tennis for more than one-and-a-half hours.

It was nevertheless a dream run for the two players as for the first time an Indian and a Pakistani player combined to reach the final of a Grand Slam event.

They might have failed to win a title but Bopanna and Qureshi were successful in sending the message loud and clear that sport can help dissolve the boundaries and India and Pakistan can watch, play and earn glory.

They wore the t-shirts with slogan -- stop war, start tennis -- to send the message of peace in the two countries, at loggerheads since the partition days.

For Bryan brothers, it was their second Grand Slam title of the season and also a revenge victory, having lost the Washington quarter-finals to the Indo-Pak team. For the Bryan brothers, this title was their ninth men's doubles crown.