Manuel Guinard and Guido Andreozzi became a doubles pairing last August, journeymen in a sport that doesn't often reward players past the age of 30.
On Saturday at Indian Wells, the two lifted the Baccarat trophy as men's doubles champions at the BNP Paribas Open.
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The pair topped first cousins Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot, 7-6(3), 6-3 on Stadium Court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
The win was the breakthrough for Guinard and Andreozzi, a pair that has steadily built momentum on the ATP Tour. The two have spent much of their playing careers in Challenger events.
The Indian Wells victory is an indication that these two can win together at the biggest events in the world and gives the pairing momentum heading into the rest of the season.
"Hopefully there are many more titles coming for us," Guinard said. "We're going to keep going."
Reaching the final was also a massive feat for Rinderknech and Vacherot. The cousins had not won a match together as a pairing prior to the start of the tournament.
In singles, Rinderknech won a match and was up a break on top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz. He lost that match, but made it all the way to the doubles final with his cousin, whom he played with for two years at Texas A&M University.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Manuel Guinard and Guido Andreozzi win doubles title at Indian Wells