Indian Duo Surge To Los Cabos Title

The Indian tandem of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan notched their second team ATP World Tour title on Saturday evening, downing Jonathan Erlich and Ken Skupski 7-6(4), 7-6(3) at the Abierto Mexicano Mifel.

“This is our second ATP title and we absolutely love Los Cabos,” said Sharan. “We had a great week. The crowd was amazing, playing in front of so many people that came out to watch us. It was a very tight match and I’m glad we pulled it through.”

Raja and Sharan finished strong after dropping their first set of the tournament earlier in the week, reeling off six in a row to lift the trophy in Los Cabos. Erlich and Skupski fought back from 5-2 down in the second set to force a tie-break, but 30-year-old Raja and 30-year-old Sharan would prevail after one hour and 42 minutes.

“We did well to hold our nerves and come out strong when it mattered,” said Raja. “It’s our strategy against theirs and who executes it better. Doubles has become so competitive these days. We deserve this after the work we’ve put in.”

Raja and Sharan’s lone previous title came in Bogota in 2013, where they also triumphed after two tie-breaks. It is a special time of year for the Indian duo, with Bogota being the predecessor to Los Cabos on the calendar.

Individually, Raja was appearing in his third career ATP World Tour final, while Sharan was contesting his second. They earn 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split $38,940 in prize money. Erlich and Skupski, meanwhile, were teaming for the first time. The Israeli drops to 18-18 in tour-level finals, while Skupski falls to 3-5.