At 43, doubles legend and Australian Open finalist Daniel Nestor is feeling it in the legs

MELBOURNE, Australia ­ ­– Somewhere close to the halfway mark of the Australian Open men’s doubles final, as the Rolex clock in the corner of the court in Rod Laver Arena ticked towards midnight, it seemed almost fated that 43-year-old Canadian Daniel Nestor and 37-year-old Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic were in the process of writing a Cinderella story.

With a combined age of 80, with Nestor in his first Grand Slam final since he won the 2012 French Open and without many more opportunities on this, the back end of his career, it was a supreme chance to bag another major trophy.

But Father Time was counting down mercilessly on Nestor’s legs. And after a slow start, Jamie Murray and Brazilian partner Bruno Soares came all the way back and posted a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory.

It was the first men’s doubles major for Murray, in his third consecutive Grand Slam final. He is coached by former Quebecer Louis Cayer, who had Nestor under his wing 20 years ago as a doubles coach and captain of the Canadian Davis Cup squad.

What it showed was that while the game is still there for the Canadian doubles legend, the legs no longer are going the distance. By the middle of the second set, it seemed likely they would win it in straight sets – especially as Soares, the holder of 21 titles, at least one in each of the last nine years, a career high of No. 3 in 2013, but in only his second major final, was so tight you probably could broken off a random limb without much effort.

The roof over Rod Laver Arena was closed as the rain poured down outside, and the humid conditions didn’t help Nestor. He feels he doesn’t get as much pop on his shots when it’s closed; he particularly felt that a year ago in the mixed doubles final. On the serve, it’s especially pronounced.

But the biggest issue, beyond the fact that Murray took charge and played superbly in the second half of the match, was one that affects all mortals.

At 43, the legs are no longer in for the long haul.

“As the match went on, they were gone. I felt like that in other matches, in the semis, too; when I served for that match it was the same kind of thing. We got out of that one, but there’s definitely things that are not the same anymore,” a reflective Nestor told Eh Game in the late hours Friday night.

“I’ve never been physically that strong, but I feel like now I’m not enduring the way I used to. I’m still playing fine, it’s just physically I’m wearing down sooner than before,” he said.

The lack of leg strength showed the most on his serve; the first-serve percentage wasn’t good enough, and the returns of his second serves resulted in far tougher volleys from far less optimal court positions.

“They were struggling for awhile and hanging on. I thought we kind of let them back into it rather than them playing well at first,” Nestor said. “They played really well after – once we let them back into it.”

Nestor is uncertain about how long he’ll continue playing. He said during the on-court ceremony that he “hoped” to be back at the Australian Open in 2017. But at this stage he doesn’t really know for sure. Obviously, that depends on his results this year, among other factors.

“Obviously in the back of my mind, retiring is always there. Being away from my family so much, I want to play with someone I can win with, and I felt that way with Radek,” he said.

But first, he’s going to see what he can do to address the legs; never good in the heat, Nestor has Davis Cup coming up in hot and humid Guadeloupe, then the high heat of the desert at Indian Wells and the high humidity at the Miami event after that.

Until the last year or so, Nestor wasn’t feeling it. He’s more than aware of it now. “I just feel like I’m not as efficient around the net with my footwork, and kind of using my hands more. I’m relying on my racquet to do more work,” he said. “Guys are more and more athletic; it’s not like 20 years ago when it was more hands. It’s definitely something I have to address.”

Already, Nestor’s racquet is like a trampoline; he said he was now stringing it with tension in the low 30s (pounds). When he hits a spinny, short angle crosscourt backhand, the “pinging” sound when the ball coming off his racquet sounds like when you try to hit a tennis ball that’s so dead, you can’t even read the manufacturer’s logo on it any more.

“We’re talking about trying to make the most of one more year, whatever that brings,” he said.

Next up for Nestor is the indoor tournament in Rotterdam where he will team up, as it happens, with Murray.

Murray’s partner always heads home to play the South American clay-court swing with countryman Marcelo Melo. And at the time of the entry deadline for Rotterdam, Stepanek’s ranking wasn’t nearly high enough to get them in to the 500-level event.

It seemed as though that would also be the case for the next tournament in Dubai. Nestor had arranged to play that one with Murray as well but with the good results in Melbourne, Stepanek’s ranking has risen enough that they can not only get in there, but shouldn’t have any trouble qualifying for the other big events coming up this spring.

“It was a good run here. We could have lost that (third-round) match for sure. And could have lost the first set of the semi-final, too,” Nestor said. “If you had asked me before this tournament if I’d take a final? I’d have said, ‘Yes’ ”