Bolelli/Seppi Clinch Dubai Doubles Crown

Italians Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi captured the doubles title on Saturday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Bolelli and Seppi defeated Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez 6-2, 3-6, 14-12 for their first ATP World Tour team title.

Bolelli, who is 5-5 in finals, and Seppi, now 1-6 in doubles title matches, earned 500 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split $150,800 in prize money.

“I’m very happy because a win is always is good, and Dubai is very good tournament, a big tournament,” said Bolelli. “Thanks to Andreas for playing with me this week. I really enjoyed it. I think we played day by day better.

“Today, was very tight. The Match tie-break was unbelievable. We started 1/5 down. Then we saved match point, we had a match point. We tried to play aggressive… Then, I think we returned very good in the [Match] tie-break on the last points. It was a good win.”

Seppi said, “It was a very good week for me. It’s good to win the title in doubles. It’s my first one. I lost six finals, so to finally win a doubles title is always something special, and especially with a good friend.”

Bolelli and Seppi broke in the fifth and seventh games of the 27-minute opener. Lopez and Lopez broke Bolelli to 15 for a 5-3 lead en route to clinching the second set in 31 minutes.

Bolelli and Seppi fought back from a 1/5 deficit in the Match tie-break, saved two match points at 8/9 and 9/10, before converting their third match point opportunity for victory in 79 minutes.

Lopez and Lopez did not drop a set en route to the final, including a quarter-final victory over top seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau. They lifted the Doha title (d. Murray-Soares) last month.

F. Lopez, who reached the Dubai singles semi-finals (l. to Baghdatis), is now 2-7 lifetime in doubles finals, while M. Lopez dropped to 11-15 in titles matches. They leave the United Arab Emirates with 300 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and $71,270.