Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles' quest for a third ATP doubles title this season ended in disappointment after a straight-set mauling at the hands of top seeds Mike and Bob Bryan in the finals of the USD 3,77,0000 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.
The fourth seeded Indo-Bahamas pair went down 2-6, 2-6 to the defending champions in a lopsided 53-minute encounter on Saturday.
The win gave the Americans their first ATP title of the season.
The Bryans were appearing in their ATP-best fifth final of the year after runner-up finishes in Sydney, San Jose, Las Vegas and Delray Beach. The title win here was their 45th career title together (11th ATP Masters Series).
"Today was one of the best matches we played in a long time. I think the last time we played like that was against Mark Knowles in Basel in the fall, and it was 6-1, 6-1. Today was the same way," said Mike Bryan.
The Bryans, who never faced a break point, broke Knowles twice in the opening set -- in the fourth and eighth games. In the second set, Bhupathi was broken twice, also in the fourth and eighth games.
Bhupathi and Knowles, who are number two in the ATP Doubles Race, came into their third ATP final of the season having won 14 of their last 15 matches.
They won back-to-back titles in Memphis and Dubai without dropping a set before their 10-match winning streak ended in the quarterfinals at Indian Wells to eventual champions Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram.
Knowles was attempting to become the 20th player in the Open Era to win 50 career doubles titles while Bhupathi was aiming for his 44th career title.
