Indian tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi of Belarus won the men's doubles title in the $665,000 ATP Tour event in Estoril, Portugal, defeating Lucas Arnold and Mariano Hood of Argentina 6-1, 6-2 in the final.
Saturday's win gave Bhupathi his 27th career title and the second in partnership with Mirnyi after the US Open triumph last year.
Incidentally, the Estoril crown is Bhupathi's first title since the US Open win.
Besides winning $25,300, Bhupathi and Miryni picked 35 ATP Race points, which should see them move up the doubles rankings from the abysmal position of 41.
The
combination with the Belarusian has worked well for Bhupathi. In Mirnyi, he has found the best partner after Leander Paes.
Bhupathi paired with Mirnyi on 13 occasions and reached the final six times. He began the current season with Joshua Eagle of Australia but soon as the partnership was not clicking talked Mirnyi into restarting their successful bond.
The Estoril clay holds a special place in both players' hearts since it was at this tournament last season that both came together for the first time at an ATP event.