Mirnyi/Nestor qualify for Barclays ATP World Tour Finals – Tennis News
Defending champions, Belarus’ Max Mirnyi and Canada’s Daniel Nestor, booked a spot at The O2 in London, final ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) event of the circuit held in November. They are the first tandem to qualify
for this season ending tournament.
Ranked top in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Doubles Rankings, Mirnyi and Nestor secured a spot at the Barclays ATP World Tour Final after cruising into the final eight of Rogers Cup, a Masters 1000 event held in Toronto,
Canada.
The excited Canadian expressed after qualifying for this event
“I’m happy to be going back. Obviously I have a good partner. I’ve always had good partners to help me qualify. I really like going there. It’s such an amazing event, so we feel fortunate to qualify. It’s an amazing event to be
a part of. We really enjoy playing in London and the arena. It’s such a nice arena to play in, the atmosphere is great.”
They required a single break of serve to formulate a 6-4, 6-3 victory against the Italian-Argentinean junction, Fabio Fognini and Juan Monaco, to reach the quarters at this outdoor hard court tournament taking place in Rexall Centre.
Mirnyi and Nestor are enjoying a spectacular season as they conquered four tournaments in their six final showdowns. They also successfully defended their title at the Roland Garros and secured the number one ranking in May by
replacing the American twins, Bob and Mike Bryan.
“This year Max and I are playing probably a little bit better than we were last year, so hopefully we can stay ahead of the Bryans... it’ll be exciting to see who finishes No. 1.” Nestor stated further.
The 39-year-old Canadian will make his 14th appearance at the Barclays ATP World Tour finals. Besides clinching last year, Nestor won this event with Nenad Zimonjic twice (in 2008 and 2010) and with Mark Knowles in 2007.
He also finished runner-up with the Nassau native in 1998 and 2006.
Mirnyi on the other hand will make his ninth appearance at the finals. He has also grabbed title here in 2006 with Jonas Bjorkman. In addition to this, the 35-year-old secured a final berth in 2009 with Rajeev Ram and 2010 with
Mahesh Bhupathi.
The world’s biggest indoor tennis event takes place from 5th to 12th November at The O2. The 17-time Grand Slam singles champion Roger Federer, Serbian ace Novak Djokovic and the King of Clay Rafael Nadal
have all qualified for the singles event of this tournament.
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