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Yuki Bhambri and Alexei Popyrin defeated Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten 3-6, 7-6, 10-8 in the men’s doubles final at the Dubai Tennis Championship.
Yuki Bhambri and Alexei Popyrin won the men’s doubles title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship
India’s Yuki Bhambri claimed his maiden ATP 500 men’s doubles title after he and his Australian partner Alexei Popyrin staged a dramatic comeback to edged past world No 14 Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Great Britain’s Henry Patten at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Having lost the first set, Bhambri and Popyrin bravely battled back, defending four match-points enroute to winning a tense second set tiebreak before eventually sealing a super tiebreak win courtesy of a Popyrin ace on the pair’s fourth Championship point.
“It was just about having fun on the court,” Bhambri told atptour.com.
“We went match by match. We were so close to losing in the first round, so it’s unbelievable to be in the finals and to win it — I don’t think I ever dreamt of that.
“Alexei is an incredible player, we all know that he’s very good in singles, but I think he has a great doubles career ahead of him as well.”
“We were so close to losing in the first round, so it’s unbelievable to be in the final and win it – I don’t think I would ever have dreamt of this,” said Bhambri.
“I’ve been coming to this tournament since I was a kid, I grew up in Dubai, played a lot of junior tournaments here, so it’s always good to come back and to win a title whether in singles or doubles is always special. It’s been an unbelievable week,” Popyrin added.
With this win, Bhambri is set to achieve a career-high ranking of No 40 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday.
Their title-winning run featured a string of impressive wins.
The duo had a stunning run, first eliminating World No. 1, Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia 4-6 7-6(1) 10-3.
In the quarterfinals, the Indo-Australian pair won 5-7 7-6(5) 10-5 against the British duo of Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.
Then in the last-four, they ousted Jamie Murray of Great Britain and John Peers of Australia 5-4 4-6 10-7.
Greece-born Stephanos Tsitsipas claimed the men’s singles title after beating Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 6-3. Making his first Dubai appearance since 2020, when he was defeated in the final by Novak Djokovic, and playing in his third final in four trips to the tournament, the World No11’s straight-sets victory ensured he became the first Greek player to claim glory in Dubai.
(With inputs from Agencies)
- Location :
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
News sports Dubai Tennis Championship: Yuki Bhambri Wins Maiden ATP 500 Doubles Title