Mumbai: There was Swiss delight for Mahesh Bhupathi but heartbreak for Rohan Bopanna on Sunday after the two suffered contrasting luck in ATP Tour finals at various venues.

Bhupathi clinched his 44th career title in Basel, Switzerland, after coasting to a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 victory with Mark Knowles of The Bahamas against Christopher Kas and Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in the Davidoff Swiss indoors tournament.

It was also the Indian’s third title of the season, having earlier triumphed in Memphis and Dubai with the same partner. The win, which came after just 61 minutes, fetched the duo 46,500 euros and 250 points.

“We are playing well. There are still two more tournaments to go. The aim is to finish the season well,” Bhupathi told The Telegraph from Basel.

The pair have already been confirmed for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai from November 9.

“Obviously, we were not expecting to be number three. The focus will now be on Shanghai but as I said, the most important thing is to keep playing well,” the 34-year-old Bangalorean said.

It would be hard to believe that a year ago pundits were talking about Bhupathi’s retirement and whether his commitments off the field were distracting him. But the fact is that, a player’s fortunes in doubles — unlike in singles — fluctuates from one season to another. And Bhupathi’s has been no exception.

The multiple Grand Slam champion blamed it on factors beyond his control for the same. “I am pretty sure that every player has gone through this. Two years ago I didn’t have a steady partner and now I have one and that makes all the difference,” he said.

Elsewhere in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Bopanna was left wondering whether he should make his caller tune — Kabhi Kabhi Aditi — as his ring tone.

The 27-year-old’s hopes of claiming his second doubles title on the ATP Tour met with an anti-climax after he, partnering former world number one Max Mirnyi, went down 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 10-8 to Travis Parrott of the US and Filip Polasek of Slovakia in the $1.05 million St Petersburg Open.

The match ended in an hour and 39 minutes.

It was a revenge of sorts for Polasek who had lost to Bopanna, partnered by Eric Butorac, in the Los Angeles final earlier this year.

“It is a learning curve for Rohan. Playing with a former world number one will help him a lot. They let the match slip from their hands but winning and losing is part of sport,” Bhupathi said on Bopanna’s loss.

Bopanna gained 175 points that should push his ranking into top-60. The youngster from Coorg is going through a crucial phase as he tries to keep his singles ranking, currently 322, also up.

Bhupathi himself had gone through such a situation and would be in the best position to advice his compatriot.

“He is trying to balance the two, obviously singles is very important for him. Last week he qualified for the main draw in Tashkent and that would help him a bit,” Bhupathi said.