Max Mirnyi and Mahesh Bhupathi posted their third victory in four clashes in 2010 over Oliver Marach and Lukasz Kubot at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Monday.
The Belarusian – Indian pair which is coming off a title victory in Paris last week clinched a two setter win in their Group B round-robin clash in London. The final match score was 7-6, 6-4. The pair beat their opponents in exactly one and a half hour.
Mahesh and Max targeted Lukasz’s forehand throughout the encounter however Mahesh had his serve broken during the third game when a Lukasz return smashed the net just to land inside the baseline. The 36-year-old Mahesh later redeemed himself on Oliver’s
serve, when after a lengthy baseline rally, the Indian blasted a strong forehand winner off a lob.
Seeded number three to win the title in the season finale, Max Mirnyi and Mahesh Bhupathi went on to take the 50-minute first set that featured a total of three aces and four double faults by the winning side.
The sixth seed pair of Marach and Kubot soon found themselves in trouble in the decisive set at 1-1. Mahesh then lobbed on Marach’s serve at 30/40 that allowed Max to cross the net for a fine forehand winner down the middle that eventually crushed the Polish-Austrian
duo.
“We have been playing well coming up here. Eventually we were able to keep that level up through the match, which kind of helped us get through,” admitted Mahesh, who is playing in the prestigious event in London for the tenth time in his career.
Mahesh has captured at least one ATP World Tour crown for fourteen seasons in a row whereas the 33-year-old Max has won at least one trophy for twelve consecutive years.
Marach and Kubot, on the other hand, are playing at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the second consecutive time.
Meanwhile, Nenad Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor also started off their year finale campaign impressively with a two setter win over d**k Norman and Wesley Moodie in the second Group B round-robin clash on Monday. The final match score was 6-1, 6-2.
The 2008 winners were in destructive form as they beat this year’s French Open finalists in only fifty seven minutes. Zimonjic and Nestor, as a result of this victory also improved their perfect record to 4-0 over the Belgian-South African pair. They won
fifty four of eighty three points to get past their foes in just under an hour.
Zimonjic and Nestor, who blasted a total of five aces and converted four of six break point chances, by virtue of this win, improved to a win loss mark of 53-18 in the year.
They are looking to capture their seventh tour-level crown of the season, highlighted by the French Open title earlier in 2010.
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