Daniel Nestor facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Daniel Nestor
CM

Nestor at the Canada vs. The Netherlands Davis Cup (Sep 2018)
Native name	Danijel Nestorović
Country (sports)	Canada
Residence	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Born	(1972-09-04) September 4, 1972 (age 52) Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Turned pro	1991
Retired	2018
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$12,835,671
Singles
Career record	85–118 (41.87%)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 58 (August 23, 1999)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	3R (1998, 1999, 2001)
French Open	1R (1997, 1998, 1999)
Wimbledon	4R (1999)
US Open	2R (1995, 2000)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	3R (2000)
Doubles
Career record	1062–488 (68.52%)
Career titles	91 (3rd in the Open Era)
Highest ranking	No. 1 (August 19, 2002)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (2002)
French Open	W (2007, 2010, 2011, 2012)
Wimbledon	W (2008, 2009)
US Open	W (2004)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	W (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011)
Olympic Games	W (2000)
Mixed doubles
Career titles	4
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	W (2007, 2011, 2014)
French Open	F (2006, 2013)
Wimbledon	W (2013)
US Open	F (2003)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	SF (2013)
Medal record Representing  Canada Men's tennis Olympic Games Gold 2000 Sydney Doubles

Nestor next to countryman Fred Niemeyer (right), his Davis Cup and Olympics partner from 2002 through 2009.

Daniel Mark Nestor is a Canadian former professional tennis player. He was born Danijel Nestorović on September 4, 1972. Daniel was known for being one of the best doubles players in the world. He was ranked as the world's number one men's doubles player for 108 weeks, which is the fifth-longest time ever!

Nestor won an amazing 95 doubles titles during his career. This includes twelve major championships, like eight in men's doubles and four in mixed doubles. He also won an Olympic gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and four Tour Finals. Daniel Nestor was the first male tennis player to win all the major doubles titles in his career, including every Grand Slam, every Masters event, the Tour Finals, and an Olympic gold medal. Only the Bryan brothers have achieved this since.

He was recognized as part of the ATP Doubles Team of the Year in 2002 and 2004 with Mark Knowles, and again in 2008 with Nenad Zimonjić. Daniel Nestor is considered one of the greatest doubles players in tennis history because he played at a high level for a very long time. In January 2016, he became the first doubles player to win 1000 matches. He was ranked in the top 100 in doubles for 1134 weeks in a row, from April 1994 to April 2018. Nestor retired at the end of the 2018 season, after a 27-year career.

Daniel Nestor's Tennis Journey

Daniel Nestor started his professional tennis career in 1991. He won his first doubles title in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1994 with his partner Mark Knowles. They beat the French Open champions, Luke and Murphy Jensen, in the final match.

Playing for Canada: Davis Cup and Olympics

Nestor was a key member of the Canadian Davis Cup team for many years, from 1992 to 2018. In 1992, he became well-known when he beat the world's number one player, Stefan Edberg, in a tough singles match in Vancouver. In 2013, he helped the Canadian team make history by reaching the semifinals of the World Group for the first time in the Open Era.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Daniel Nestor and his partner Sébastien Lareau won a gold medal. This was Canada's first-ever medal in tennis at the Olympics! They won four more titles together, including a big win at an ATP Masters 1000 event in Canada.

Grand Slam Success in Doubles

Nestor won three Grand Slam doubles titles with his long-time partner Mark Knowles from the Bahamas. They won the 2002 Australian Open, the 2004 US Open, and the 2007 French Open. They also reached many other Grand Slam finals together.

In 2007, Nestor decided to team up with a new partner, Nenad Zimonjić. They had already won a smaller tournament together in 2001. Their new partnership was very successful. In 2008, they won their first major title together at the Hamburg Masters. They then won the 2008 Wimbledon title. This was Nestor's first Wimbledon win, which meant he had now won all four Grand Slam tournaments in his career, completing a "Career Grand Slam." They also won the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup that year.

In 2009, Nestor and Zimonjić won Wimbledon again, along with eight other titles. In 2010, they won the French Open and were runners-up at the Australian Open. They ended their partnership on a high note by winning the ATP World Tour Finals in London. Between 2008 and 2010, they won 21 ATP titles together.

From 2011 to 2012, Nestor partnered with Max Mirnyi. In their first tournament together in Brisbane, Nestor won his 783rd career doubles match, breaking the record for the most match wins ever. Nestor and Mirnyi won the 2011 French Open and the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals in London. They won another Grand Slam title together at the French Open in 2012.

Mixed Doubles Triumphs

Daniel Nestor also had great success in mixed doubles, where a male and female player team up. He won his first mixed doubles title at the 2007 Australian Open with Elena Likhovtseva. He won his second mixed doubles title at the 2011 Australian Open with Katarina Srebotnik. In 2013, he won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Kristina Mladenovic. They also won the Australian Open mixed doubles title together.

Later Career and Retirement

In 2013, Nestor partnered with Mahesh Bhupathi and then Robert Lindstedt. He won his 81st doubles title with Leander Paes at the Winston-Salem Open. He also became the first player in ATP history to reach 900 career doubles wins.

In 2014, Nestor teamed up again with Nenad Zimonjić. They won two Masters 1000 titles in a row, which was the first time Nestor had done that since 2009. In 2015, he won his 86th doubles title with Rohan Bopanna. He continued to win titles with different partners, showing his amazing skill and longevity.

On June 20, 2018, Daniel Nestor announced he would retire in September 2018, after 28 years of playing professional tennis. He played his last match on September 15, 2018, at the Davis Cup in Toronto.

Life Outside the Court

Daniel Nestor was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. His Serbian parents moved to Canada in 1976, when he was almost four years old. They settled in Toronto, where Daniel went to school.

In July 2005, Daniel Nestor married his girlfriend, Natasha Gavrilovic. They have two daughters, Tiana Alexis, born in December 2008, and Bianca Willow, born in March 2013. The family now lives in the Bahamas.

Daniel Nestor has received many honors for his achievements. In November 2010, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada, which is a very high honor in Canada. In 2011, he received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. He was also given an honorary doctorate by York University in 2012. In 2024, Nestor was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

Grand Slam Finals: Doubles

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1995	Australian Open	Hard	Mark Knowles	Jared Palmer Richey Reneberg	3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Loss	1998	French Open	Clay	Mark Knowles	Jacco Eltingh Paul Haarhuis	3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss	1998	US Open	Hard	Mark Knowles	Sandon Stolle Cyril Suk	6–4, 6–7, 2–6
Win	2002	Australian Open (1)	Hard	Mark Knowles	Michaël Llodra Fabrice Santoro	7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss	2002	French Open	Clay	Mark Knowles	Paul Haarhuis Yevgeny Kafelnikov	5–7, 4–6
Loss	2002	Wimbledon	Grass	Mark Knowles	Jonas Björkman Todd Woodbridge	1–6, 2–6, 7–6(8–6), 5–7
Loss	2003	Australian Open	Hard	Mark Knowles	Michaël Llodra Fabrice Santoro	4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win	2004	US Open (1)	Hard	Mark Knowles	Leander Paes David Rikl	6–3, 6–3
Win	2007	French Open (1)	Clay	Mark Knowles	Lukáš Dlouhý Pavel Vízner	2–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss	2008	French Open	Clay	Nenad Zimonjić	Pablo Cuevas Luis Horna	2–6, 3–6
Win	2008	Wimbledon (1)	Grass	Nenad Zimonjić	Jonas Björkman Kevin Ullyett	7–6(14–12), 6–7(3–7), 6–3, 6–3
Win	2009	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Nenad Zimonjić	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	7–6(9–7), 6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–3), 6–3
Loss	2010	Australian Open	Hard	Nenad Zimonjić	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	3–6, 7–6(7–5), 3–6
Win	2010	French Open (2)	Clay	Nenad Zimonjić	Lukáš Dlouhý Leander Paes	7–5, 6–2
Win	2011	French Open (3)	Clay	Max Mirnyi	Juan Sebastián Cabal Eduardo Schwank	7–6(7–3), 3–6, 6–4
Win	2012	French Open (4)	Clay	Max Mirnyi	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	6–4, 6–4
Loss	2016	Australian Open	Hard	Radek Štěpánek	Jamie Murray Bruno Soares	6–2, 4–6, 5–7

Grand Slam Finals: Mixed Doubles

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	2003	US Open	Hard	Lina Krasnoroutskaya	Katarina Srebotnik Bob Bryan	7–5, 5–7, [5–10]
Loss	2006	Australian Open	Hard	Elena Likhovtseva	Martina Hingis Mahesh Bhupathi	3–6, 3–6
Loss	2006	French Open	Clay	Elena Likhovtseva	Katarina Srebotnik Nenad Zimonjić	3–6, 4–6
Win	2007	Australian Open (1)	Hard	Elena Likhovtseva	Victoria Azarenka Max Mirnyi	6–4, 6–4
Win	2011	Australian Open (2)	Hard	Katarina Srebotnik	Yung-Jan Chan Paul Hanley	6–3, 3–6, [10–7]
Loss	2013	French Open	Clay	Kristina Mladenovic	Lucie Hradecká František Čermák	6–1, 4–6, [6–10]
Win	2013	Wimbledon (1)	Grass	Kristina Mladenovic	Lisa Raymond Bruno Soares	5–7, 6–2, 8–6
Win	2014	Australian Open (3)	Hard	Kristina Mladenovic	Sania Mirza Horia Tecău	6–3, 6–2
Loss	2015	Australian Open	Hard	Kristina Mladenovic	Martina Hingis Leander Paes	4–6, 3–6

Olympic Medal Matches

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Gold	2000	Sydney Olympics	Hard	Sébastien Lareau	Todd Woodbridge Mark Woodforde	5–7, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(7–2)
4th Place	2016	Rio de Janeiro Olympics	Hard	Vasek Pospisil	Steve Johnson Jack Sock	2–6, 4–6

Awards and Recognition

• 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 – Tennis Canada male player of the year
• 2002, 2004, 2008 – ATP Doubles Team of the Year
• 2002, 2008 – ITF Doubles World Champion
• 2012 – Davis Cup Commitment Award

Images for kids

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  Nestor at the Canada vs. The Netherlands Davis Cup (Sep 2018)

• 

  Nestor next to countryman Fred Niemeyer (right), his Davis Cup and Olympics partner from 2002 through 2009.

See also

In Spanish: Daniel Nestor para niños