Monte Carlo: Mahesh Bhupathi had to retire due to a leg injury, forcing the Indian and his partner Max Mirnyi to settle for the runners-up trophy in the men's doubles competition of the Monte Carlo Masters.
The fifth seeds were trailing 3-6, 0-2 against top seeds and defending champions Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia when Bhupathi retired due to a leg injury after 44 minutes of play.
Nestor and Zimonjic broke serve in seventh and ninth games of the 29-minute first set, winning 16 of 20 service points and hitting five aces.
After breaking in the second game of the second set, the match continued for a further two points before Bhupathi - appearing in his 80th tour-level final (45-35) - called it a day.
"Of course we got a little fortunate today with the injury which is unfortunate for them. They've been playing really well recently, getting to the final in Miami and they'll definitely be one of the teams to contend with throughout the rest of the season," said Nestor.
Nestor has now captured 67 doubles titles, while Zimonjic has a 35-23 finals record. He also lifted the Monte-Carlo title in 2004, 2005 and was runner-up in 2006.
As a team, they have compiled a 19-9 record in title matches and have a 21-5 match record on the season.
Jonas Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge were the last back-to-back winners at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in 2001 and 2002.
Bhupathi and Mirnyi were finalists at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami two weeks ago. They played together from 2002-04, winning seven of 15 finals, including the Monte-Carlo title in 2003.
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