40 years old – and still hungry for victories: This is Max Mirnyi.The Belarusian reached the next career milestone in Shenzen – at the side of an Austrian.
Which milestones are to be celebrated in the tennis circus?The 500.Tour victory of Agnieszka Radwanska in Wuhan, against Julia Görges of all people, in the second round of Wuhan made rather few international headlines – maybe also because the Polish player had already retired against Ashleigh Barty a day later.Radwanska is 28 years old, and even if 2017 has not been a year of her own fancy, there will still be a few more match victories to come.But is it enough to catch up with Max Mirnyi one day?
The proud Belarusian, at any rate, has set 750 in Shenzen.In doubles, it goes without saying that the 40-year-old from Minsk has been an authority there for years, and this year also at the side of the Austrian Philipp Oswald, with whom Mirnyi has set the last milestone.The opponents, the Chinese wildcard pair Mao-Xin Gong and Ze Zhang, may feel like an integral part of higher tennis history – once.
Mirnyi himself has, of course, already beaten quite different calibers on his way to the new brand, and won the title in Roland Garros four times alone – twice with Jonas Björkman, twice with Daniel Nestor, also one of the big, old men on the tour.And a brother in spirit when it comes to the Davis Cup: both Mirnyi and Nestor have only been available to their national teams a few days ago.
Victory number 751 came Max Mirnyi on Thursday: against André Begemann and Franko Skugar 6:4 and 7:5.