Bopanna falters in Mumbai doubles final

For the second year in a row, Rohan Bopanna was at the losing end of the Kingfisher Airlines Open doubles final.

He and Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi went down fighting 6-7 (3), 6-7(5) to third seeds Robert Lindstedt of Sweden and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in Mumbai on Sunday night.

In the end, the Scandinavian duo proved just too good in the tie-breakers.

For the Indo-Pak pair, this was their first ATP tournament together. The loss shouldn't bog them down too much - after all they won four Challenger titles on the trot in July and August.

Bopanna, 27, had also made the final at Mumbai last year with Mustafa Ghouse only to lose to doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi and Croatia's Mario Ancic.

While Bhupathi withdrew with a bad back this year, there was no news of India's number 1 doubles player Leander Paes.

Bopanna and Qureshi in Kingfisher Open doubles final

Rohan Bopanna has a shot at doing India proud with a doubles title at the Kingfisher Airlines Open, along with a chance to erase last year's losing finalist tag.

Pairing up with Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, Bopanna defeated Lars Burgsmuller of Germany and Olivier Rochus of Belgium 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals in Mumbai on Saturday.

For the Indo-Pak pair, this is their first ATP tournament together. But they have plenty of experience in title rounds -- having won four Challenger titles on the trot in July and August.

Bopanna, 27, had also made the final at Mumbai last year with Mustafa Ghouse only to lose to doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi and Croatia's Mario Ancic.

This time around, Bopanna and Qureshi are up against the third-seeded pair of Sweden's Robert Lindstedt and Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.

For the record, Lindstedt and Nieminen have a 17-20 win-loss record going into the final, their first on the ATP tour.

Both pairs have had the advantage of a walkover win in this tournament - Lindstedt/Nieminen in the opening round and Bopanna/Qureshi in the quarterfinals.

Will Bopanna and Qureshi win the doubles title?
	Yes - They are playing the best tennis of their career
	No - Luck favoured them so far, not any more
	Can't say - all depends on how they play the final
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