New Delhi: Two days before the US Open kicks off on Monday, Indian tennis got the shot in the arm it needed as Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza pocketed the men's and women's doubles titles respectively at the Pilot Pen tournament in the US.
Third seeds Sania Mirza and her Italian partner Mara Santangelo overcame their final challenge from top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber on Saturday.
Bhupathi and his Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic, seeded No. 1 for the tournament, beat Poland's Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6-3, 6-3 to take the men's doubles title.
Sania, who will begin her US Open singles campaign seeded 26th for the tournament, was already on a high following a string of strong finishes in both the singles and doubles events.
Playing in just their second event together, the Indian earned her seventh career Tour doubles title and her fourth this year while Mara won her sixth career Tour doubles title and her fifth this year.
Bhupathi, on the other hand, won his first title at the Pilot Pen tournament after three unsuccessful attempts. His partner, Nenad Zimonjic, had earlier been partnering Bhupathi's compatriot Leander Paes in the circuit.
Zimonjic praised Bhupathi, saying "Mahesh is one of the greatest doubles players. He has won the US Open twice and I hope that I can win it once. I hope we can continue with this form and maybe play even better. I think Mahesh had a really good summer by winning Montreal and here."
(With inputs from PTI)
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