India`s Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi clinched their first title of the season by winning the men`s doubles title at the $970,000 Japan Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on Sunday. The unseeded pair, the 1999 French Open and Wimbledon champions, edged past the fifth-seeded Australian-American duo of Michael Hill and Jeff Tarango 6-4 6-7 (1/7) 6-3.
It was the first time a Japanese title had gone to India since Ramesh Krishnan won the men`s singles in 1986.
"The first thing I`d like to say is, I think that the Indian express is rolling again and I`m happy we played some good tennis today," said Paes. "Jeff and Michael played really a good match today, they returned really well, and it made it a lot more difficult for us, but the level of tennis today was the highest of all this week and I`m happy with it.``
"In the third set, we managed to have a good break at 3-4 and I have to say that this tournament gives us a lot of confidence."
Paes and Bhupathi had their finest season last year, becoming the first team to reach the finals of all four Grand Slams in the same year since Frank Sedgman and Ken McGregor in 1952. They reached number one ranking in April and finished the year on the same level. But since then Paes and Bhupathi have been struggling with injuries, playing only five tournaments this season.
"This year, we both had a lot of injuries, so it makes it much more special winning the Japan Open, it was the first one back together again since we are both in good health," said Paes.
The pair are one of the most popular partnerships in the game and have been surrounded by fans throughout the week.