Mirnyi/Nestor top Fognini/Monaco to reach quarters – Rogers Cup 2012
Top seeds, Belarus’ Max Mirnyi and Canada’s Daniel Nestor, got the better of the Italian-Argentinean tandem, Fabio Fognini and Juan Monaco, in straight sets at the Rogers Cup 2012 on Thursday. They nudged up a 6-4, 6-3 victory against their opponents to
cruise into the final eight at this outdoor hard court tournament taking place in Toronto, Canada.
The Belarusian-Canadian junction showed their class after overpowering Fognini and Monaco in their first encounter at Rexall Centre. After stealing the show in almost an hour-long marathon, Mirnyi and Nestor inched closer towards their fifth year-to-date
title after securing a quarter-final spot.
“It wasn’t the prettiest match,” the delighted Canadian stated in a courtside interview after winning the match. “We got a couple let cords on some key points in the first and second to break… We just hung in there and served well at the right time and saved
some break points on some good serves.”
Mirnyi and Nestor entered this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event in high spirits. They brushed off both breakpoints they came across to keep their entire serves. The Belarusian-Canadian duo got the breakthrough in the last game
after capitalising on one out of three break chances, ultimately sealing the opener by winning six games to four.
Ranked top in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Doubles Rankings, Mirnyi and Nestor kept momentum rolling in the follow-up set. The high flying junction plucked their serves until they cashed in the lone break chance in the sixth game and jumped to
a 5-1 lead. They held their serve once again and pulled out the victory with a 6-3 score line.
On the whole, the seeds smashed six aces to dominate. They juggled up a lower first serve share of 50 per cent as opposed to their rival’s 55 per cent but impressively marked 22 out of 28 points on it.
Next in line for Mirnyi and Nestor are the eighth seeded Spaniards, Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez. The Spanish seeds eased past the Czech-German pair, Tomas Berdych and Florian Mayer, in straight sets to set up this epic battle.
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