Knowles, Nestor Claim Second Artois Championships Title

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Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor captured their second Artois Championships title after winning four matches in less than 24 hours at The Queen’s Club.

Knowles and Nestor, the 2003 champions, defeated top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6(4), 7-5 in the final, having only played their second and third round matches late on Saturday evening.

With rain wreaking havoc earlier in the week, the started their second round match against Julien Benneteau and singles finalist Nicolas Mahut after 7.00 pm on Saturday, and after a straights sets victory over the French duo, they defeated Tim Henman and Lleyton Hewitt immediately afterwards.

On Sunday, they overcame No. 2 seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi 7-5, 7-6(4) in the semifinals, before defeating the Americans in the final.

It capped a remarkable week for Knowles and Nestor, who arrived in London having won the French Open in Paris.

“It’s been an incredible month for us,” said Knowles. “It’s been really special today especially, beating the top two teams in the world.”

Nestor added: “We served great and returned well today, we just kept putting pressure on them and we’re delighted to win the title again.”

It was the 39th title for Knowles and Nestor, while the Bryans were attempting to win their 40th.