NEWPORT –– Mardy Fish is a two-time first-round loser as the top seed in the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, but he is a champion as an unseeded doubles player.

Fish and John Isner, also a first-round loser last week, defeated fourth-seeded Rohan Bopanna of India and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan, 6-4, 7-6 (1), in the doubles final yesterday.

Fish lost in singles Wednesday and bemoaned the fact that he had not played well in his seven visits to the Newport Casino. He was emphatic in his desire to do well here. He did, but in doubles.

He and Isner upset top-seeded Fabrice Santoro and Nicolas Mahut of France in straight sets, eliminated Paul Capdeville of Chile and Ivan Navarro of Spain in straight sets, and edged Phillipp Petzschner of Germany and Alexander Peya of Austria in three sets in the semifinals.

Fish and Isner earned $18,600, Bopanna and Qureshi $10,500.

Amritraj first Indian in ATP final

Singles runner-up Prakash Amritraj was the first Indian to reach an ATP final since Leander Paes won the Hall of Fame championship in 1998. And he was the second Amritraj to play for a title in Newport.

Vijay Amritraj won championships in 1980 and 1984, when the tournament was a regular stop on the pro tour, and in 1976, when it was a 16-man exhibition. Vijay was in town all week to watch his son advance to his first ATP Tour final and was sitting in a baseline box for the showdown match with Fabrice Santoro.

Father and son talked strategy Saturday night and yesterday morning, but the smooth-stroking Frenchman had answers for the attacking style Team Amritraj adopted.

Despite the loss, Amritraj was upbeat.

“Tennis isn’t like the Olympics, when you have one big thing every four years. It’s a 12-month process. Only one person gets to come out undefeated at the end of each week, and it doesn’t mean that you had a bad week. You can get to the semis and get to the finals and keep building on it. I think this is a great stepping stone,” he said.

Nearly 19,000 in attendance

Boosted by crowds in excess of 3,000 yesterday and Saturday, attendance for the week reached 18,977.

The Hall of Fame Classis exhibition yesterday morning, held in conjunction with the Tim and Tom Gullikson Foundation — 1977 Hall of Fame champion Tim Gullikson died of a brain tumor — attracted a separate-admission crowd of 1,280.

Another fundraiser to benefit the Hall of Fame and the Gullickson Foundation is scheduled this weekend. The inaugural Norm Shapiro Memorial Invitational will be at Broad Rock Middle School, in Wakefield, from Friday through Sunday. Shapiro was an avid tennis player and fan well-known for his bus trips to the U.S. Open. In addition to tennis, there will be a barbecue and auction of items autographed by Jim Courier, Maria Sharapova and John McEnroe. Registration deadline is Wednesday and can be competed at www.ustarhodeisland.com

McEnroe, Wilander to play

Pro tennis will return to Newport in a month with the Hall of Fame Champions Cup, a stop on Jim Courier’s senior tour. Hall of Famers John McEnroe, Mats Wilander and Courier have committed, and Pat Cash, Wayne Ferreira and Mikael Pernfors will join them.

The tournament will run Aug. 13-17, and tickets are available at (866) 914-FAME or on-line at tennisfame.com

mszostak@projo.com