Daniel Nestor wins doubles opener at ATP World Tour Finals By QMI Agency

Daniel Nestor is hit in the chest with the ball during a Davis Cup doubles match against France in Vancouver, B.C., Feb. 11, 2012. (BEN NELMS/Reuters)

Daniel Nestor and Max Mirnyi didn't have an easy time of it in their opener at the ATP World Tour Finals Monday in London.

The Canadian and his Belarusian partner, the second seeds and defending champs, barely survived for a 4-6, 7-6 (1), 12-10 win over fourth-seeded Robert Lindstedt of Sweden and Horia Tecau of Romania, saving a match point in the tiebreaker third set to avoid starting the season-ending tourney with a loss.

"They didn't give us many chances on their serve," Nestor said. "We got a couple at the end of the second. But they were the better team for about a set and three quarters. We were just trying to hang on in the second. We did a good job of that. Then the match slowly started to shift.

"We created a few more opportunities. I thought they still played pretty well. We just raised our level."

The pair still have at least two more round-robin matches at the World Tour Finals -- against Mahesh Bhupathi/Rohan Bopanna and Jonathan Marray/Frederik Nielsen -- and would like to wrap the year up in style.

Nestor and Mirnyi, now 42-16 on the year, will part ways at the end of the tournament. In 2013, Nestor will play with Mahesh Bhupathi of India.