ATP World Tour Finals, Zimonjic/Nestor versus Bhupathi/Miryni– doubles match preview
The second seed pair of Nenad Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor will meet Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Miryni, the third seeds, in the second doubles match of the day at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Both the teams have already posted victories in their
opening clashes in the prestigious London event.
Zimonjic and Nestor, who are currently ranked number two in the South African Airways ATP doubles list, complied another consistent year with a final record of 6-4, highlighted by a major crown at the French Open in Roland Garros, beating Dlouhy-Paes in
the finals in straight sets.
It was followed by another title victory at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo where the two of them got the better of Bhupathi-Mirnyi.
The second seed tandem started off their 2010 campaign with a trophy in Sydney, defeating Hutchins-Kerr in straight sets. At the year’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open in Melbourne, Nestor and Zimonjic did well to make their way into the finals where
they were given a beating at the hands of the Bryan brothers in straight sets.
It was Nestor's fourth overall title battle in Melbourne. A month later, the pair successfully defended their crown in Rotterdam, which was followed by a runner up effort in Indian Wells.
During European clay-court swing, they captured two trophies in Barcelona and Monte-Carlo and were also runner ups at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid.
At the clay court French Open tournament in Roland Garros they overpowered the defending champions Dlouhy-Paes in the final and thus regained the number one position in both team and individual rankings. It was their third major crown as a pair.
On grass, the duo reached the semi final at the Queen’s Club before losing in the second round at Wimbledon. Zimonjic and Nestor, started off their North American summer hard-court circuit with two quarter final appearances at the ATP World Tour Masters
1000 Toronto and New Haven and concluded the year with a third round exit at the United States Open in New York.
They made a comeback on the tour with a semi final showing in Beijing, which was followed by a quarter final run in Shanghai.
The Belarusian and veteran Indian pair of Miryni and Bhupathi, on the other hand, regrouped in 2010 on the very first occasion since 2004 and made it into the season finale on the third occasion together.
They captured just a single title this year at the ATP Masters 1000 Paris after getting the better of Knowles-Ram in the concluding week of the regular season.
The duo also made their way into five title battles, including four ATP World Tour Masters 1000 competitions in 2010. After a slow start, they regained form by reaching the final in Miami where they missed just a single set on their way into the finals before
falling at the hands of Dlouhy-Paes in straight sets.
In their next competition in Monte-Carlo, the second seed tandem beat the top seed Bryan brothers in the quarter final before Mahesh pulled out of the finals as a result of injury. Mahesh has picked up at least one ATP World Tour crown for fourteen straight
seasons and Max has won at least one trophy for twelve years in a row since 1999.
They are playing their last tournament as a pair as Mahesh will join Leander Paes in 2011. He enjoys a match record of 223-81 with Paes and a final mark of 23-10 on the tour. The pair together has triumphed in twenty-four Davis Cup clashes in a row.
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