Bhambri wins first ATP 500 doubles event

Yuki Bhambri (left) and Alexei Popyrin pose with their trophies. Pic/Getty Images

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 edge past World No.14 Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Great Britain's Henry Patten at the Dubai Tennis Championships here on Saturday.

Having lost the first set, the duo saved four match points in the second set against Heliovaara and Patten to seal a 3-6, 7-6, 10-8 win in a 51-minute contest on Saturday. With this win, Bhambri is set to achieve a career-high ranking of No. 40 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday.

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Their title-winning run featured a string of impressive wins. They began the tournament by eliminating World No. 1, Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia 4-6, 7-6(1), 10-3. In the quarter-finals, 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 semi-finals, they ousted Jamie Murray of Great Britain and John Peers of Australia 5-4, 4-6, 10-7. "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," he added.

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