New Delhi: The Indian pair of G. Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai defeated the French duo of Emmanual Lebesson and Alexandre Cassin 3-1 (11-9, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6) to lift the men’s doubles trophy and the winner’s purse of $6,000 in the WTT Contender Tunis on the final day today.

The Indians also bagged 400 ranking points which should help the pair in the future.

The Indian pair began well but soon lost the second badly to the left-right combine of Lebesson and Cassin. Lebesson, a Bundesliga League veteran at 33, and the 23-year-old Cassin, who has service variations and excellent forehand finish, played superbly to restore parity. But the Indians, maintaining a handy lead, managed to pull it off in the third despite the French duo closing in on them. With a 2-1 cushion, the Indians finished off in style in the fourth, without delaying the process.

Earlier, in the semi-finals, the Indians defeated the Hungarian pair of Nandor Ecseki and Adam Szudi 3-2 (8-11, 12-14, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9) in a thriller.

The Indians will next head to Slovenia where they play back-to-back tournaments, the last of preparatory events before the World Championships in Houston.