LONDON - Canadian Daniel Nestor and Belarusian partner Max Mirnyi struggled to win their opening match at the ATP World Tour Finals on Monday, defeating Swede Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau of Romania 4-6, 7-6 (1), 12-10.
The match lasted one hour 36 minutes, with second-seed Nestor and Mirnyi saving a match point in the tiebreaking third set.
Mirnyi closed out the victory on his team's second opportunity with a winning volley to the open court.
Nestor and Mirnyi will split up at the end of the week. Nestor, the 40-year-old from Toronto, will play in 2013 with Indian Mahesh Bhupathi.
Nestor has a fearsome reputation at the year-end event, playing on the winning doubles team in four of the last five tournaments and winning the trophy a year ago with Mirnyi.
Nestor, who won the French open with Mirnyi this season, came to London after earning a title in Basel with former partner Nenad Zimonjic. Nestor and Zimonjic won the London year-end event in 2008 and 2010.
