The reigning Australian Open champions, who have a combined 56 doubles accolades between them, added title No.3 to their collection since joining forces earlier this year.

Reflecting on their win at the Edgbaston Priory Club, Mertens said, “I’ve already played two doubles finals here and I lost all of them, so I’m very happy to win this one.

“Birmingham is of course very important in the lead up to Wimbledon, and for us to get this title will give us confidence going into it.

“We’ve enjoyed our week here. We’ve had beautiful weather and a great atmosphere, so I just want to say thank you to the city of Birmingham.”

The Belgium, Taiwanese partnership galloped through the opening set, showing strength behind their first and second serve to immediately find the double break.

Although Kato and Zhang did well to get a game on the board early doors in the second, Mertens and Hsieh remained critical, exploiting any indication of weakness from the Japanese, Chinese duo.  

With a second double break lead banked, the top speeds sprinted towards the finish line, conjuring four Championship points on serve.   

However, four Championships points were won and lost by Mertens and Hsieh as their opponents retrieved one of their service breaks against them.

But the Grand Slam champions weren’t to make the same mistake a fifth time as they secured their fourth consecutive straight-sets win to lift the title after just short of an hour of play.

See all results and highlights from the Rothesay Classic Birmingham 2024