Nestor-Zimonjic Aim To End Partnership On A High

© Getty ImagesDaniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic are contesting their last tournament as a team at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Former champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic are aiming to go out on a high in their final ATP World Tour tournament as a team. In 2011, Nestor will partner Max Mirnyi, while Zimonjic joins forces with Michael Llodra.

Nestor and Zimonjic have compiled a 52-18 match record on the season, including six titles from 10 finals. The duo finished runners up at the Australian Open (l. to Bryan-Bryan) in January and won the Roland Garros title (d. Dlouhy-Paes) in May.

“It was definitely a good season, especially the first six months,” Zimonjic told ATPWorldTour.com at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Saturday. “Then we had a bad run on the grass courts then throughout the summer. Now indoors, we’re playing well again and we are hoping to finish well here.”

In October, the pair announced they would split-up after the end of the season. Nestor admitted, “We probably didn’t play well at the same time. In partnerships, when one player isn't playing great, you hope the other can pick it up. It has been the case when we’ve struggled over the years. This time, we couldn’t.”

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Nestor, 38, is making his 12th appearance at the season finale (23-18 tournament record), while 34-year-old Zimonjic has qualified for the fifth time (10-6 mark). Both players are looking forward to competing at The O2 in south-east London.

“It is always very nice to come to the year-end championships, where we compete against the best guys in the world,” said Zimonjic. “We always try to do well here. We had a great result in Shanghai two years ago and didn’t do too well last year, but hopefully we can have another good tournament here and finish on a good note.”

Nestor believes “it is important to play our games” in order to emulate their 2008 title success. “When we do so, we are difficult to play against. We’ve got big serves and big shots. If we’re on it doesn’t matter who we play. It is all down to us and hopefully we’ll go out on a high.”

Next year, Zimonjic will play with Llodra for the first time since March 2003 at the Sony Ericsson Open.

The Serbian confessed, “There are always very few options when you come out of a successful partnership. I was maybe looking for somebody with the same style, a big serve and powerful game. Michael is a great player. We might have a problem with his singles, but hopefully it won’t affect things that much.”

Nestor has a 1-2 lifetime record with Mirnyi. The pair has not teamed up since May 2000, but the Canadian isn’t worried. “It isn’t a huge adjustment when you start playing with a similar game style,” said Nestor. “Max and Nenad are similar.”

Belarusian Mirnyi added, “It is the unfortunate nature of doubles that teams change at the end of the year. Hopefully, Daniel and I will work out but nothing is given.”