Doubles champ Nielsen would rather play singles

• Frederik Nielsen won Wimbledon in doubles this year, but he wants to focus on singles
• Nielsen, 29, currently is ranked No. 362 and has never cracked the top 100
• "I don't care if I have to play ... singles in a lower ranked tournament"

LONDON -- You're 29. Your singles career is going nowhere. Suddenly, you find magic with a new partner and score the biggest win of your life.

Time to focus on doubles? Um, not so much.

That pretty much describes Denmark's Frederik Nielsen, who as a 28-year-old wild card captured Wimbledon in July with Jonathan Marray of Britain to become one of the most unlikely Grand Slam champions in recent memory.

Their good fortune in London has continued at the ATP World Tour Finals this week.

Wednesday, they were the first team to qualify for the semifinals by beating reigning champions Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Canadian Daniel Nestor 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 12-10.

In their opening round-robin contest, the Group B pair saved two match points to defeat fifth-seeded Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna 6-4, 6-7 (1-7), 12-10.

The eighth-seeded Marray and Nielsen next play fourth seeds Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau on Friday.

Despite his journeyman singles status -- Nielsen is ranked No. 362 and has never come close to cracking the top 100 -- he refuses to give up singles. As a result, he will not compete with Marray next year.

"If I changed my philosophy and my outlook on life in order to play doubles, then it wouldn't make my happy," said Nielsen, whose grandfather, Kurt Nielsen, was a two-time Wimbledon singles runner-up in 1953 and 1955. "If I skipped singles now, it would be for the sake of results and money and that kind of stuff. That's never going to motivate me. Quite the contrary, it's going to make it not enjoyable for me."

Marray has taken being left in the lurch in stride.

"Still on the lookout for a regular partner," Marray said with a smile. "It's not bearing fruit as of yet.

As Nielsen pointed out, he and Marray haven't exactly owned the tour since their surprising run at the All-England Club.

Following Wimbledon, the tandem played just four events together, going 2-4, including a second-round exit at the U.S. Open.

"I think our results after Wimbledon kind of speak for themselves," Nielsen said.

However, with a top-20 doubles ranking within his grasp, 23rd-ranked Nielsen could expect direct entry to the ATP's most lucrative tournaments for the next few months -- at least until his Wimbledon points come off the computer.

"All the doubles players are kind of scratching their heads," said second-ranked Bob Bryan of the USA.

Nielsen has spent most of the year playing lower-level Futures and Challenger events. After this event, he will return to Italy to play in a club league.

In an 11-year career, his doubles winnings of $294,945 already exceed the $277,4501 he's won in singles.

That disparity will grow here, as the duo will pocket $50,000 for their two round-robin wins. An undefeated doubles title here is worth $330,000.

None of this has deterred Nielsen from his quest of becoming a more accomplished singles player -- not even the 17,800 fans packing the flashy 02 Arena, a much bigger audience than most doubles players ever see, even at a major.

"I don't care if I have to play ... singles in a lower ranked tournament, than doubles would bring me, because I know there's other places that I want to be," he said of a chance for more money and fame than he'll ever likely amass on his own.

Asked if winning the title here could possibly change his mind, Nielsen was adamant.

"No, I'm not going to quit playing singles," he said.

Nothing personal, of course.

"I don't mind playing with Johnny," Nielsen went on. 'It's not that. I'm not in tennis to play with Johnny, unfortunately. Sorry, Johnny. No offense. I think the big decisions in life, for my life, has to be on how I feel."