HOUSTON (CP) – Daniel Nestor of Toronto and partner Mark Knowles of the Bahamas defeated French Open champions Xavier Malisse and Oliver Rochus 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4 Sunday at the ATP Masters Cup doubles championships.
Also Sunday, Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge of Australia beat defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States 6-3, 6-4. Bjorkman and Woodbridge improved to 2-0, while the second-seeded Bryans slipped to 1-1.
Nestor and Knowles, the U.S. Open champions and top seed in the tournament, needed two and a half hours to beat the French duo of Malisse and Rochus.
“Those guys were pretty impressive,” said Nestor. “We didn’t know what to expect coming in. Either they could play hot or play nervous.”
Nestor was not overly impressed with his team’s efforts in the opening set, where they lost nine break points.
“That gave them some confidence and they stayed with us, finally they won the first set,” said Nestor.
Cooler than usual conditions at the outdoor tournament didn’t bother Nestor.
“Hey, I don’t mind cool, I’m from Canada,” said Nestor. “I don’t mind playing in this weather and it works fine for the fans.”
