Mahesh Bhuapthi and Rohan Bopanna, who need to improve their rankings to earn a direct entry to the London Olympics, stormed into the final of the ATP Dubai Open on Friday.
The fourth seeded Indian pair got the better of the giant-killing Austrian pair of Julian Knowle and Alexanderin Peya 7-6(2), 7-6 (7) in the semi-finals of the US $1,700,475 hardcourt event.
Knowle and Peya had shocked the top seeded pair of Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic in the quarter-finals.
Either Bopanna, ranked 11th, or Bhupathi (No 15) need to be in top-10 in the ATP doubles ranking to have a direct entry in the Olympics competition.
A top-10 player has the liberty to choose his partner, irrespective of his ranking.
The unseeded pair of Leander Paes and Janko Tipsarevic exited from the tournament after a 4-6, 5-7 defeat to second seeds Robert Lindstedt and Horia Teacu in the first round.
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