NOTEBOOK From Flushing Meadows

Mixed thoughts: Mark Knowles did his best to concentrate on tennis Friday, a tough task considering the rough weather back home. Knowles, from the Bahamas, and Daniel Nestor won their first U.S. Open doubles title by beating Leander Paes and David Rikl 6-3, 6-3. "I try to look at the overall perspective," Knowles said. "Obviously, from the Bahamas, we've been very lucky over the years. Unfortunately, that's part and parcel. If you live in the Caribbean, you've got to deal with hurricanes. We don't have to deal with earthquakes or anything like that. "Where I'm from, Nassau, we actually were pretty fortunate in the last hurricane. But definitely my thoughts go out to the other islands. Freeport was devastated," he said. Three recent hurricanes have swept through the Caribbean, and Knowles has had some property damage. "But nothing that hasn't been replaceable, so I've been very fortunate," he said. Knowles and Nestor, of Canada, also won the 2002 Australian Open. But they have lost six other Grand Slam finals, including at the 1998 U.S. Open. "We had a lot of heartbreak over the years, losing a lot of finals, so this feels really great: winning,"
Mixed doubles: Bob Bryan won his second straight U.S. Open mixed doubles title, pairing this time with Vera Zvonareva to beat Alicia Molik and Todd Woodbridge 6-3, 6-4 in Friday's final. Bryan, who plays Davis Cup doubles for the United States with twin brother Mike, won last year's Open with Katarina Srebotnik. In 2002, Bob Bryan and Srebotnik lost in the final to Mike Bryan and Lisa Raymond.
Associated Press