Memphis, TN -- Unseeded Steve Darcis claimed his second career ATP title Sunday with a 6-3, 7-6(5) victory in one hour and 15 minutes over No. 8 seed Robin Soderling in the final of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships.

The 23-year-old Belgian captured his first ATP title in Amersfoot, the Netherlands on clay in July 2007 where, as a qualifier, he became the lowest ranked (No. 297) titlist of the season.

Coming into this week, Darcis was just 2-5 on the season, his best showing being a second round appearance in Sydney in January. He lost in the first round in his other three ATP main draws and in Belgium’s Davis Cup tie with the Czech Republic.

Darcis almost didn't get out of the first round when Vincent Spadea served for the match at 5-4 in the third set but he managed to win in a tie-break. He only dropped two sets during the tournament.

The No. 81st-ranked Darcis will crack the Top 50 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings for the first time, climbing to around No. 45. He earned a career-high $163,750.

"It's tough for me to speak right now," said Darcis. "I just finished one hour ago. I feel great. It's the second victory for me in two finals. It's unbelievable. I don't know how to explain it. It was a great feeling when I saw the ball going out because I knew the match wasn't finished. He was playing great. He was serving really good. It was hard for me to win my service games sometimes, I'm really happy about the end. Just like I could say "ooof" It was a great moment."

"I don't realize what I did today. Maybe if you ask me the same question tomorrow, I might answer better. It's just amazing the way I feel right now. Really tough for me to explain."

Soderling, who reached the final last week in Rotterdam, was bidding to become the first Swede to capture an ATP title in the last two-plus seasons since Oct. 2, 2005 when Jonas Bjorkman captured the crown in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (d. Stepanek). He was appearing in his seventh career ATP final (2-5); all coming indoors. It was also his second runner-up effort in Memphis. Two years ago he lost to Tommy Haas in the final. His last ATP title came in Milan three years ago (d. Stepanek).

"He played really well," said Soderling. "He didn't miss much on his serve, much better than I expected him to do. It's a shame that I played my worst match in the final two weeks in a row now. I think I played some really good tennis this week. I didn't play bad today either, but I played a lot better in my other matches. Maybe he made me play bad. He played really good."

Soderling, who did not drop serve coming into the final (held 35 games), was broken the only time in the fourth game of the opening set. Darcis did not drop a point in his next three service games to capture the set in 27 minutes. In the second set, both players held serve, forcing a tie-break, which Soderling led most of the way. He went up 5-3 but then lost the next four points as Soderling hit a forehand long.

Soderling was playing in only his third tournament of the season since missing the final three months of last year with a left wrist injury. On his comeback in Marseille, he reached the quarterfinals (l. to Ancic) before going on to reach the Rotterdam final. His match record is 10-3 on the season.

In the doubles final, top seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles captured their first ATP title together at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships as they defeated Thai twins Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana 7-6(5), 6-2 in one hour and 16 minutes.

Bhupathi-Knowles, who joined forces at the beginning of the campaign, didn't drop a set in four matches. This was the 10th career tournament playing together (13-9 record). It was Bhupathi's 42nd career title and Knowles' 48th career crown.

In the first set, Knowles was broken at 5-5 but they gained the break right back, forcing a tie-break, which Bhupathi-Knowles took control. They went up 3-1, lost the the next three points but closed the 45-minute set by winning four of the last five points. In the second set, Bhupathi-Knowles broke each brother in the first and third games to jump out to a 4-0 lead and they never looked back en route to the title.

Bhupathi-Knowles had an impressive start to their partnership by reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open (d. Bryan-Bryan in QF; l. to eventual champions Erlich-Ram). This was Bhupathi's first career title in Memphis and the third for Knowles. He claimed titles in 1996 and 2003 with long-timer partner Daniel Nestor.

"It's good to have the first title of the year," said Bhupathi. "We started off really well in Melbourne feeling pretty confident. We both served well, focused hard because we knew if we played well we could have a shot at the title."

The 26-year-old Ratiwatanas were bidding for their second ATP title of the season and third overall, having claimed their second career title in Chennai at the start of the campaign (d. Baghdatis-Gicquel). The duo upset second seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett in the first round in their debut in Memphis and edged past fourth seeds Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa 15-13 in the match tie-break in the semifinals (saving four match points).

Sanchat Ratiwatana said, "When you play the finals, it's always good. They just played too well. They came out had big returns They just played good at the right time. January and February we've had unbelieveable months. Because we won a title (Chennai) and made a final. We're looking to improve and play more tournaments."

Saturday: Soderling, Darcis Reach Championship

Friday: Soderling Gets Past Roddick

Thursday: Bjorkman Edges Querrey

Wednesday: Becker Upsets Haas; Roddick Wins

Tuesday: Stepanek, Querrey, Johansson Reach 2nd Rd.

Monday: Haas, Melzer Advance on Opening Day