Rediff
Tokyo, Oct 6: Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy's bid for a second successive ATP title ended in disappointment after the top seeds were stunned by the Russian-German pair of Mikhail Youzhny and Mischa Zverev in the finals of AIG Japan Open in Tokyo on Sunday.
The unseeded Youzhny and Zverev beat the Indo-Czech pair 6-3, 6-4 to capture their second ATP title together.
Playing a solid service game, Youzhny and Zverev converted two of the four break points that came their way and protected their serve against four break point chances that Dlouhy and Paes earned in the 58-minute encounter.
It is the second time this year that Youzhny and Zverev have combined to deny Paes and Dlouhy a title win, having also done so when they claimed their maiden ATP title at Halle in June.
Paes and Dlouhy were chasing their second straight title after capturing their first last week at Bangkok.
The 35-year-old Paes was bidding for his 41st ATP doubles title and second in Tokyo, after triumphing in 2000 with former partner Mahesh Bhupathi.