NEW DELHI: The quest of Mahesh Bhupathi and his partner Mark Knowles of the Bahamas for a third Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) title this season ended as they were thrashed in straight sets by the Spanish pair of Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo in the doubles final of the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco.
According to information received here, Bhupathi and Knowles, seeded fourth, proved no match for the un-seeded Nadal-Robredo duo and surrendered 3-6, 3-6 at the clay court event on Sunday night.
With this victory, Nadal, who beat world No.1 Roger Federer in the singles final earlier in the day, became just the second player in ATP Masters Series history to win both the singles and doubles in an event.
The Indo-Bahamas duo struggled throughout the match and the matter became worse when Bhupathi, who was suffering from a right groin injury, received treatment at 3-3 in the second set.
Bhupathi and Knowles, who were contesting their fourth final in their past five tournaments, had won back-to-back titles in Memphis and Dubai earlier in the year. Had they won the crown here, they would have risen to the top in the ATP doubles race.
