Mirnyi Claims Acapulco Crown With Huey, Closes In On 700 Wins

Former World No. 1 Max Mirnyi pulled to within two match wins from joining
the '700 Club' after capturing the doubles title at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel
on Saturday with Treat Huey .
Fourth seeds Huey and Mirnyi defeated third seeds Alexander Peya and Philipp
Petzschner 7-6(5), 6-3 in one hour and 26 minutes. The Belarusian-Filipino
duo saved seven of eight break points, claiming victory in their first final together.
"I told Treat that even though we've only been together for two months, we've been
through a lot," Mirnyi said. "We've improved on our teamwork and things we need
to do. Luckily today, in a big tournament like Acapulco, everything clicked. We
played well at the same time which was important.
"The margins are so small in doubles, often coming down to Match Tie-breaks and
we kept our focus on things we needed to do. It's good to see it pay off so quickly...
I'm thrilled and looking forward to having more productive weeks. I get a lot of
joy in improving every week as a team."
Individually, it was Mirnyi's 49th doubles title and first since Beijing in 2013.
He went one step further after finishing runner-up in Acapulco with Feliciano Lopez
in 2014. For Huey, it was the former University of Virginia standout's seventh career
crown. He is now victorious in four straight ATP World Tour finals, with three different
partners.
Peya and Petzschner raced to a 3-1 lead in the first set behind an early break,
but Huey and Mirnyi fought back, drawing level at 4-4 before claiming the opener
in a tie-break. They would break twice in the second set and seal the win on their
first match point, taking home 500 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and splitting
$94,800 in prize money. They had saved two match points in a first-round victory
over Chris Guccione and Bernard Tomic and upset top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and
Robert Farah in the semis.
"It was a tough first round match against Guccione and Tomic and we somehow came
out with the win there 14-12 in the tie-break," said Huey. "We took a lot of momentum
from that. I was feeling pretty sick the first few days and could barely get out
of bed, but as Max said we just need to find a way. We did and we've been playing
great tennis all week. It's great to win a title and we're having fun. The tournament
here in Acapulco is unbelievable."
Playing in their fourth ATP World Tour final as a team, Peya and Petzschner fell
to 0-4. The Austrian was seeking his 15th individual crown in 37 finals, while his
German partner fell to 6-6 in title matches.
Source: www.atpworldtour.com