India's doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi has found a steady playing partner in Mark Knowles of the Bahamas. On Saturday, Bhupathi and Knowles captured their second ATP title of the season — after their Memphis triumph — at the Dubai tennis championship.

In a keenly contested battle that went on for 1 hour and 46 minutes, Bhupathi and Knowles beat the Czech Republic pair of Martin Damm and Pavel Vizner 7-5, 7-6 (7), who were also attempting for their second title of the season after a win in Marseille.

Bhupathi had previously won the Dubai doubles title in 1998 with Leander Paes and in 2004 with Fabrice Santoro. Both teams held on to their serves, until at 6-5 in the first set, with Vizner serving. Bhupathi and Knowles took the lead. Damm and Vizner had a chance of breaking Knowles’ service at 5-5 but Bhupathi’s forehand pass, deftly put to good use when at deuce, helped the Indo-Bahamas pair save the breakpoint. According to the new doubles rules, the first to earn a point on deuce wins the game.

Bhupathi was back to saving the crucial points on deuce again, in the first game of the second set and on his own service — this time with a booming ace.

“It works well for us that we won those crucial points,” said Knowles.

Defending champions Damm and Vizner lost the plot in the tiebreak of the second match too. While both had been brilliant in the match — Damm with his forehand and serves, and Vizner with his backhand winners and net points —buckled under pressure to lose the tiebreaker 7-9 despite the fact that Knowles landed a double fault to earn them a cool 3-2 lead.