Leander Paes, Purav Raja clinch men's doubles title at Knoxville Challenger tournament

Leander Paes and his doubles partner Purav Raja overcame a stiff challenge from the American- Australian duo of James Cerretani and John Patrick Smith 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 to lift the men's doubles title at the Knoxville Challenger tennis tournament in Tennessee.

Leander Paes and Purav Raja had to work hard to lift the Knoxville Challenger title after being taken to the distance by their opponents in the finals played on Sunday. The win at Knoxville Challenger gave Paes and Raja their first-ever title as a pair after joining forces in August this year.

Earlier, Leander Paes won three Challenger level titles this season pairing with Canadian Adil Shamasdin and American Scott Lipsky.

Raja, on the other hand, before partnering with Paes, had sealed the Bordeaux Challenger title with Divij Sharan besides making it to the summit showdown of the Chennai Open.