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THE CANADIAN PRESS
LONDON -- Daniel Nestor has his career Grand Slam.
The Toronto native and Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic defeated Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe 7 6 (12), 6 7 (3), 6 3, 6 3 in the doubles final at Wimbledon.
"Being the only Canadian to win it is very special," said Nestor. "I feel like I've achieved a lot in tennis. I feel very fortunate to have won today, and we feel like we had to play our best to do it. That makes it more satisfying."
The tournament at the All England Club had been the only Grand Slam missing from Nestor's resume.
He played in one other Wimbledon final, losing to Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge of Australia 6 1, 6 2, 6 7 (7), 7 5 in 2002.
"It's a great feeling," said Nestor. "Wimbledon has the most history and tradition of any tournament.
"We focused really hard. It's one of those matches where you don't want to give an inch. Every game and point is tough."
Nestor, 35, won the 2002 Australian Open, 2004 U.S. Open and 2007 French Open with previous partner Mark Knowles.
The win was the 10th in a row for Nestor's team, who tuned up for Wimbledon by claiming the Queens' club crown on grass, and made up for disappointment in the French Open final a month ago, when they lost to South Americans Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna.
Zimonjic clinched the victory despite playing with his left wrist heavily braced after a semifinal fall, with the newly married Serb slamming a backhand return winner to the far corner out of reach on first match point.
The well balanced final was contested by a quarter of seasoned over 30 veterans with a combined total of 14 Grand Slam doubles titles. Playing his 11th Grand Slam doubles final, Nestor now owns 53 career honours, 40 earned with Knowles.
The trophy was the first at a Grand Slam for Zimonjic, who came up short at Wimbledon in 2004 and 2006.
The match was the last at Wimbledon for the 36 year old Bjorkman, retiring after the Olympics.
Nestor and Zimonjic have now lifted three trophies this season, the first two Hamburg and Queen's. They placed runners up at Indian Wells, Rome and Roland Garros.
"Now I think we're the No. 1 team so far for the year, which is very exciting, too," said Nestor.
"Hopefully we can relax and carry this through the rest of the season and play a little more relaxed and enjoy things a little more."
The marathon opening set, which stretched close to an hour, stayed on serve and into a tiebreak, with Nestor and Zimonjic finally taking a welcome lead on their fifth set point after saving three for their opponents. After a duel at the net, Nestor's team earned the set when Bjorkman blinked first with a shovelled reaction return into tape.
The second set was equally draining as it also went into tiebreakers. But the experienced Bjorkman and Ullyett killed any unnecessary drama as they quickly reached three set points. Ullyett poached perfectly cross court with a volley winner to square the match in a flash at one set apiece.
The second seeds earned the first break of the grinding match as Bjorkman went down 3 1 through a backhand long, with Nestor quickly consolidating with a hold for 4 1 in the third.
"It was a little bit of nerves out there, and finally we broke through," said Nestor. "They kept up their level in the second, and we were fortunate to get a break.
"I thought we started playing better in the third and forth, especially returning. The whole match we served really well."
Two unforced errors from Bjorkman handed over a two set to love lead as Zimonjic put the set away with a precision volley.
Because of the match's length, television viewers were denied the final's ending as NBC cut from their Wimbledon coverage to regularly scheduled programming.
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