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.

At 37, Ivo Karlovic continues to take the ATP World Tour by storm. The big-serving Croat claimed his eighth career title, downing top seed Feliciano Lopez 7-6(5), 6-2 on Saturday at the Abierto Mexicano Mifel.

“It was a difficult match in the beginning,” said Karlovic. “He was playing really well. I was a little lucky at the end of the first set, but that gave me confidence for the rest of the match. I realised what he was doing and took my opportunities.

“Everyone here is really nice to me. The venue is unbelievable. I hope to come back next year.”

Third-seeded Karlovic took the matchup of elder statesmen after one hour and 22 minutes, firing 21 aces while saving his lone break point faced. He claimed his second ATP World Tour title in
less than two months (Newport), while 34-year-old Lopez was denied in going back-to-back after emerging victorious on the clay of Gstaad. With a combined age of more than 72 years, it was the oldest final on the ATP World Tour since Hong Kong 1977, between Ken Rosewall and Tom Gorman (74 years, 8 months). In fact, Karlovic has featured in the three oldest finals since then…

Oldest Tour-Level Finals Since 1977

After capturing the opener in a tie-break, the Croat would pull away with his first break in the sixth game of the second set. A Lopez double fault and perfectly executed drop volley from Karlovic would give him the lead for good at 4-2. Two games later, he lifted his arms in triumph after another double fault from the Spaniard sealed the victory on his first match point.

“I thought I could have won, but I committed a few unforced errors in the tie-break and two big double faults in the second set and was broken twice,” Lopez said following the match. “It was
complicated because he does not give you many chances on his serve.

“It’s difficult to take positives today, but I believe that these recent weeks have been great for me. It’s another final and I have great memories from Cincinnati and New York, so I hope to play well.”

Karlovic, who became the first 37-year-old to lift an ATP World Tour singles trophy in 27 years, with his title on the grass of Newport last month, is the inaugural winner in Los Cabos. It marks
the second time Karlovic has won multiple titles in a season, having previously done so in 2007. He extended his FedEx ATP Head2Head lead over Lopez to 6-3, reeling off four straight wins
since last conceding defeat 11 years ago in Indian Wells.

The 6’11” right-hander takes home 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and is projected to rise three spots to World No. 21 on Monday. He earns $128,200 in prize money, while Lopez emerges with $67,515 and 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points. The Spaniard, who saw his eight-match winning streak snapped, was bidding for a sixth ATP World Tour title in his 15th final.

Andy Murray imposed his will on Kei Nishikori at the Rio Olympics on Saturday, winning their semi-final clash 6-1, 6-4 in 80 minutes. The Brit, who took gold at the London Olympics in 2012, will look to defend his title against Rafael Nadal or Juan Martin del Potro on Sunday.

Murray was nearly untouchable on serve, landing 76 per cent of first serves and never facing break point. He dominated backhand exchanges from the baseline and won nine of 13 net approaches. Outmatched from the first ball, Nishikori was able to win only 39 total points to Murray’s 61. The Japanese star went for broke on his forehand and saved Murray’s first two match points, but succumbed shortly thereafter.

Murray won gold on the grass of Wimbledon over Roger Federer in 2012 and could face fellow former champion Nadal, who was victorious in Beijing in 2008 over Fernando Gonzalez.

World No. 2 Andy Murray returns to Cincinnati next week bidding to capture a third Western & Southern Open title. The Scot – a champion in 2008 and 2011 (d. Djokovic both years) – faces a tough route if he is to recapture the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown in Ohio with No.5 seed Kei Nishikori a likely quarter-final opponent and fourth seed Milos Raonic slated to meet him in the semi-finals.

His projected final opponent, second seed Stan Wawrinka had his best result in Cincinnati in 2012 when he fell to countryman Roger Federer in the semi-finals. Wawrinka will likely have to find a way past No. 7 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals before a showdown with 2013 champion, No. 3 seed Rafael Nadal, in the semi-finals. Nadal has claimed 15 of 18 FedEx ATP Head2Head clashes with the World No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Vote for your favourite Cincinnati Golden Moment

Murray opens his campaign against either this week’s Abierto Mexicano Tenis Mifel finalist Ivo Karlovic or Argentine Juan Monaco in the second round. He has never lost to 37-year-old Karlovic in seven career meetings, however has fallen to Monaco twice in five matches. French No. 13 seed Richard Gasquet is drawn to meet him in the third round.

Wawrinka, meanwhile, will begin against either #NextGen American wild card Jared Donaldson or Spanish former World No. 9 Nicolas Almagro. He has never faced Donaldson and boasts a 6-3 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Almagro. His third-round opponent would likely be this week’s Abierto Mexicano Tenis Mifel finalist Feliciano Lopez, or former Top 10 players Gilles Simon or Grigor Dimitrov.

Third seed Nadal, who fell to Lopez in the third round in Cincinnati last year, faces either Pablo Cuevas or Sam Querrey in the second round with a trio of #NextGen players – 14^th seed Nick Kyrgios, Lucas Pouille and Borna Coric – potential third-round obstacles. Sixth seed Tomas Berdych is drawn to meet the Spaniard in what would be the pair’s 23^rd FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter. Nadal has won 19 of those matches.

A semi-finalist in 2014, fourth seed Raonic faces a tricky start to his Western & Southern Open campaign against either Italian Fabio Fognini or fellow big-server John Isner. Eighth seeded #NextGen star Dominic Thiem or French No. 9 seed Gael Monfils would be his expected quarter-final opponent.

Seven-time champion Roger Federer and five-time finalist Novak Djokovic will be missing from Cincinnati due to injuries.

Ivo Karlovic is through to his third ATP World Tour final from his past four events after Dusan Lajovic retired with wrist and elbow pain in the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel semi-finals on Friday. The No. 3 seed looked on his way to winning his fifth FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting from as many encounters with the Serbian after taking the opening set 6-2 before Lajovic called time at 1-1 in the second set.

It marked an unfortunate end for the World No. 72 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, after taking down No. 2 seed Bernard Tomic and No. 7 seed Nicolas Almagro en route to his third semi-final.  For 37-year-old Karlovic, it extends an impressive run of form of late, in which he has won 13 of his past 15 matches.

“I’m really happy that I’m in the final but then again I know him really well and know that he’s a really good guy so I would never wish this for him,” Karlovic said. “I began really aggressive and that’s my game. I was going to the net and he was missing all the passing shots.”

The Croatian will bid to win his eighth ATP World Tour final against either top seed Feliciano Lopez or Pablo Carreno Busta. “This is what I was hoping for when I arrived here,” he said. “I was doing really well in the last month or so. I made finals in Newport and Washington and also here now. I’m really happy about that.”