By Benjamin Snyder

 

Three-time Wimbledon runners-up Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau won the Western & Southern Open men’s doubles title on Sunday, defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna 6-4, 6-4 on the Grandstand. The victory is their first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title together.

 

As the No. 4 seeds, the team took out Olympic gold medalists Bob and Mike Bryan in the semifinals.

 

Said Tecau about that win, "First time for me that I'm beating the Bryans, so it's very rewarding to beat the best doubles team in the world and get my first Masters title here in Cincinnati."

 

He continued, "We played really well yesterday. We came out with a game plan and we executed well." He continued, "So yesterday we went for it, and we had to play well to beat them. We served really well, and that was the key for us. "

 

Needing just over an hour, the pair collected their fourth title of the season, having already won at Bucharest,               's-Hertogenbosch, and Bastad earlier this year. In addition, the two men advanced to the semifinals at the Australian Open.

 

To win, Lindstedt and Tecau faced only two break points over the course of the match, losing one to the No. 6 seeds. The team from India, however, ended up edging the titlists in the ace department, striking 12 total to eight.

 

Bhupathi and Bopanna, meanwhile, claimed a first title together this season in Dubai.