NEW YORK -- Bob and Mike Bryan's pursuit of a calendar-year Grand Slam is still alive after a scare in the third round of the U.S. Open.

The defending champions were down a set and a break against unseeded Canadians Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil on Sunday before rallying for a 6-7 (1), 7-5, 6-2 victory.

The Bryan brothers are trying to become the first men's double team of the Open era, and the first since 1951, to win all four major tournaments in the same year. They've already achieved a "Bryan Slam" with four straight titles starting with the 2012 U.S. Open.

Struggling with returning serve, the American twins switched sides after the opening set for the first time in about three years.

After going down a break at 3-4 in the second set, the top-seeded Bryans immediately broke back against the 40-year-old Nestor's serve. They clinched the set by breaking his serve again, with Nestor double-faulting twice in the game, including on match point.

The Bryans broke his serve twice more in the third set to advance.

Nestor has won eight Grand Slam doubles titles with three different partners, beating the Bryans in the final at the 2012 French Open and 2009 Wimbledon. This is his first major tournament with the 23-year-old Pospisil.