The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Mahesh & Knowles duo loses

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Mahesh & Knowles duo loses

New Haven (USA): Mahesh Bhupathi’s quest for a second successive ATP Pilot Pen doubles title ended in dejection as the Indian veteran and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles went down 5-7, 2-6 to Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa of Brazil here on Saturday.

Bhupathi and Knowles double-faulted seven times and were broken four times and could convert just one of the four break points that came their way.

In the first set, Melo and Sa opened up a 2-0 lead after breaking Bhupathi. But Sa was broken in the next game and both teams held serve throughout until the 12th game when Knowles double-faulted at a decisive point.

In the second set, the Brazilians went up 4-2 by breaking Bhupathi and then broke Knowles in the eighth game on the decisive point.

The Brazilians were coming off a second round exit at the Beijing Olympics and Sa said it took a while to adjust.

“The time change was really tough, we were waking up at 5 a.m. every day and we tried to stay up,” said Sa.

The 34-year-old Bhupathi was looking to defend his New Haven title, having won last year with Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.

Cilic triumphs

Marin Cilic outlasted home favourite Mardy Fish 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, to seal a first career title at the ATP event. In a topsy-turvy match, the Croatian 19-year-old hit 11 aces and clinched victory after one hour and 54 minutes, thrusting his arms to the sky in jubilation of a landmark victory.

“I would have liked to have played better,” a dejected Fish said, “this is my eleventh final. I’ve only won twice. It’s starting to really sting. I’ve got a lot of runner-up trophies in my office in my house.”

The Croatian teenager, who is set to rise from 31st to around 25th when the new world rankings are issued on Monday, said winning his first title at 19 meant he was on the right track. “It just helps me not to have any doubts in what I do,” he said. “It brings me a little more self-belief.” — Agencies

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