The Canadian-Belarusian partnership of Daniel Nestor and Max Mirnyi worked perfectly well at the Roland Garros 2011 Men’s Doubles competition after the duo beat unseeded South Americans Juan Sebastian Cabal and Eduardo Schwank 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 in Saturday’s final.
Nestor, who just breached the 800-win mark in doubles, was a champion in this event last year together with previous partner, Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.
Both Nestor and Mirnyi have won the French Open doubles titles in the past with different partners and being in their thirties, they are still the best in the field.
“It’s unbelievable. Winning never gets old. The biggest goal in my career is winning Grand Slams. They’re all special for different reasons. Every time you win with a new partner, that first one is an amazing feeling. Today is no exception,” Nestor said.
“I think any Grand Slam is a special win, but particularly for a new team it’s a very important hump to get over. We knew on paper we’re capable of playing well together. [But] up until you produce a result, you never know. Now having won a Grand Slam we know what we need to work on. We hope to maintain the level and hopefully get many more important wins,” Mirnyi said.
As for the runners-up, they have nothing to be ashamed about as they reached the final by beating more experienced players, including top-ranked doubles players Mike and Bob Bryan in the semifinals.
