THE CANADIAN PRESS
MADRID — Daniel Nestor and Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic reached their fourth final in five clay events early Sunday morning with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Argentine Juan Del Potro and American Mardy Fish at the Madrid Masters.
The on-form second seeds have a quick turnaround time of just over 12 hours to be ready for the final at the Magic Box against Swede Aspelin and South African partner Wesley Moodie.
That unseeded team booked a spot in the title match as they defeated Brazil’s Bruno Soares and Zimbabwe veteran Kevin Ullyett 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 10-6 (tiebreak).
The match was pushed late an hour after Rafael Nadal needed over four hours to beat Novak Djokovic in the singles semifinals.
With Roger Federer then defeating Del Potro in the singles, the beaten Argentine then had to rest before taking to the doubles court around midnight.
The match was played at a brisk pace as Nestor and Zimonjic got the job done and were soon off to bed.
The 26-year-old from Toronto and his Serbian partner have been on a roll over the past five weeks, claiming three straight major titles at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome. They’ve won 14 of their last 15 matches, with a Paris practise week set in the last few days before the start of the clay-court Grand Slam at Roland Garros next Sunday.
“It was good to get through such a late match,” said Nestor. “We feel we are starting our French Open buildup in exactly the right way.
“The way we’re playing it would be really great to win another title prior to heading to Paris.”
The pair’s only slip came last week in the first round in Belgrade — Nestor’s birth place — when they were beaten in a first-round surprise by a team featuring the teenageed younger brother of Djokovic.
Nestor and Zimonjic are also drawing closer to doubles No. 1 rivals the American Bryan brothers, with 31-year-old Californians Bob and Mike suffering through two weeks of poor results.
The Americans have lost their last two matches and were beaten by Nestor and Zimonjic in the Monte Carlo and Rome Masters finals.