Paes/Stepanek down Mirnyi/Nestor to win title – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
Seventh seeds, Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek, grabbed their second title of the season, after beating Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor in the final at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Saturday.
The Indian-Czech duo came back from a set down to upset the second seeds 3-6, 6-1, 10-8 in an hour and 22 minutes.
Paes and Stepanek are the team to beat this season. They joined forces earlier this year and have already captured a Grand Slam and one ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title.
Mirnyi and Nestor went into the driving seat, snatching a break in the fourth game of the opening set and holding their next serve to attain a 4-1 lead. The Belarusian-Nestor grabbed the ninth game without dropping a single point,
claiming it 6-3.
Paes and Stepanek raised the level of their game in the second set and completely dominated it. The Indian-Czech tandem made breakthrough in the second and fourth game, holding all of their serves to race to a 5-0 lead. Mirnyi
and Nestor avoided humiliation after they were able to open their account but could not resist further, losing it 1-6.
In the match tie-breaker, Mirnyi and Nestor got themselves into a solid position, as they built a 4-1 lead. However, Paes and Stepanek bounced back one again, clinching next six points to move ahead 7-4. The Indian-Czech team did
not lose the advantage till the end and closed it 10-8.
Both pairs made a number of errors on the second serve, committing four double faults each. Paes/Stepanek and Mirnyi/Nestor were able to win just five of the 14 and nine of the 21 points on the second deliveries respectively. However,
the Indian-Czech duo’s shot making at the net was far superior to their opponents’.
Commenting on the match, Stepanek said, "We fought through it, and we got on top of them in the second set all the way. We [were] the more aggressive, and, I would say, creative team in the [Match] Tie-break, as well. That's why
we won."
This is Paes’ 50th doubles title on the ATP World Tour. He had recently completed his 600 match wins.
A jubilant Indian said, "[It's] really, really special. 50 tournaments takes a little doing. 600 matches takes a little bit of doing. Having done a three peat here in Miami is awesome. Next year, I hope to start another one."
Mirnyi and Nestor lost their second straight title match at the Sony Ericsson Open.
Nestor said, “This was a tough loss, but there's a lot of tennis to play this year. We had our chances but they were just too good in the tiebreak set.”
It is pertinent to note that Paes has completed hat-trick of titles in Miami with this win.
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