Manisha Malhotra wins doubles crown

Manisha Malhotra, playing with Leanne Baker of New Zealand, won the doubles title at the $50,000 Challenger in Marseille, France, on Sunday.

The pair defeated third seeds Caroline Dhenin of France and Maja Palaversic of Crotia 7-6(5), 6-2 in the final.

It was an impressive victory for Manisha and Leanne as they beat the top seeds, fourth seeds and the third seeds in a row to win the title.

The win gives Manisha 40 WTA points and takes her doubles points total to 113, which should raise her ranking from 256 to just around 200. Leanne Baker will raise her rank from 226 to around 190, which will be high enough for them to get a doubles entry in any Challenger event.

Manisha had earlier won the title at the $25,000 Challenger in Vietnam, with Nirupama Vaidyanathan, in April 2001.