Bhupathi-Knowles win in Switzerland

BASEL: Indian Davis Cupper Mahesh Bhupathi and his Bahamas partner Mark Knowles outclassed Germans Christopher Kas and Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-3 to win Davidoff Swiss Indoors champion doubles title here Sunday.

The title win for the Indo-Bahamian pair comes after their last week's final appearance at Madrid Masters. Bhupathi and Knowles split euro 46,500 in prize money, while Kas and Kohlschreiber divide euro 27,300.

With this win, Bhupathi and Knowles have improved their track record this season to 36-16. The duo had also two ATP titles -- Memphis and Dubai from as many as six finals - to their credit this season. Earlier, in the semifinals, the Indo-Bahamas pair had eased past the Argentine pair of Jose Acasuso and Agustin Calleri in straight sets to enter the finals of the euro 891,000 ATP Swiss Indoor tournament.

Bhupathi and Knowles,  currently in the third position in the ATP Doubles Ranking, defeated the Argentine pair 7-5 6-2 in an hour and 17 minutes.

The victory comes shortly after the pair had made it to the Madrid finals last week. The Madrid feat helped the duo book a berth in the season-ending prestigious Tennis Masters Cup to be held in Shanghai next month.

Top seven teams in the ATP doubles race apart from Roland Garros winners Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and Luis Horna of Peru would compete in the event.

Bhupathi and Knowles are placed third in the race with 593 points while Leander Paes
and Lukas Dlouhy are at the sixth place with 431 points. 

Bhupathi and Knowles won ATP titles in Memphis and Dubai apart from reaching four finals, including three at ATP Masters Series events at Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid.