Julian Knowle (Austria) and Michael Kohlmann (Germany) made up for their singles disappointment by winning the doubles title of Tata Open Tennis Championship here on Sunday. They prevailed over fourth seeds Frantisek Cermak and Leos Friedl (Czech Republic) in a closely-fought final at 7-6 (3), 7-6 (1).It was the perfect setting for the Austrian-German combination to show their skills with the nearly filled stadium enjoying every minute of the final.There was hardly much to differentiate between the two pairs. However, the German pair raised their level in tiebreak which proved to be the decisive factor today.It was Knowle and Kohlmann’s second title on the ATP Tour after their first one last year in Copenhagen. They had decent success in the doubles last year.There were no breaks in the first set which was decided by the tiebreak. Kohlmann and Knowle powered away in the tiebreak, conceding one point.The Czech pair looked to be back in the match when they broke Knowle in the eighth game of second set with a string of Cermak returns followed by the Austrian’s double-fault. However, the joy was shortlived as Friedl’s serve was broken in the next game, thanks to Knowle and Kohlmann’s stinging returns.Cermak saved three break points in the 11th game and the match went into tiebreak for second straight time. The German pair wrapped up the match in tiebreak and raised their arms in jubilation.For their victory, Knowle and Kohlmann got $16,500 plus 35 race points.
