Daniel Nestor

Early Life

Daniel Nestor was born Danijel Nestorović in Belgrade in 1972, when it was part of Yugoslavia. His Serbian parents moved the family to Toronto in 1976. The left-hander began playing tennis at age 11 and attended Earl Haig Secondary School as part of its Academic Program for Gifted Athletes.

Career Highlights – Singles

Career singles highlights for Daniel Nestor, who turned pro in 1991, include victories over world-ranked stars Marcelo Ríos of Chile, Patrick Rafter and Mark Philippoussis of Australia, Cédric Pioline of France and Ukraine's Andrei Medvedev. He gained worldwide recognition in 1992 after he defeated then-world No. 1 Stefan Edberg of Sweden while playing for Canada in a Davis Cup match in Vancouver. Nestor was 19 and ranked 238th in the world at the time. His career-best singles results in major events include reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon in 1999 and the third round of the Australian Open in 1998, 1999 and 2001.

Career Highlights – Doubles

Daniel Nestor entered few singles tournaments after 2000, when a shoulder injury forced him to concentrate on doubles. He quickly became recognized as one of the best doubles players in the world. His most significant wins came with fellow Canadian Sébastien Lareau, Bahamian partner Mark Knowles and Nenad Zimonjić of Serbia.

At the 2000 Olympic Summer Games in Sydney, Australia, in front of 9,000 partisan fans, the duo of Nestor and Lareau upset Australian favourites Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge 5–7, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6 (7–2) in the Olympic gold-medal final to win Canada's first-ever Olympic medal in tennis.

That victory clinched for Nestor and Lareau the title of 2000 Canadian team of the year, following a ballot conducted among sports editors and broadcasters across Canada. Nestor is also one of the few Canadians to have won a tournament on his native soil. He and Lareau won the Tennis-Masters Series Canada doubles title in 2000 in Toronto.

In 2002, Nestor was ranked No. 1 in world doubles rankings and remained there for more than two years. Also in 2002, Nestor became the second Canadian ever to win a Grand Slam. He partnered with Mark Knowles to win the Australian Open doubles crown. Nestor and Knowles also won two Masters-Series events — the top rung of men's tennis — in 2002. Nestor and Knowles teamed up again to win the US Open in 2004 and the French Open in 2007. The successful duo parted ways in 2007.

Nestor embarked on another successful partnership shortly after, with Nenad Zimonjić. In July 2008, Nestor became the first Canadian to win at Wimbledon when he and Zimonjić defeated Jonas Björkman (of Sweden) and Kevin Ullyett (of Zimbabwe) in the doubles final. Later that month, Nestor and Zimonjić captured the Rogers Cup doubles title, an event Nestor previously won with Lareau in 2000.

In April 2009, Nestor reached a historic milestone in Canadian tennis, celebrating his 1,00th Tour Final when he and Zimonjić won the Barcelona Open doubles title over Nestor's former partner Knowles and Mahesh Bhupathi of India. In June 2010, he and Zimonjic won their third Grand Slam title together at the men's French Open. In January 2016, Nestor became the first player to win 1,000 ATP doubles matches.

Nestor amassed 91 career doubles titles, including titles in all four Grand Slam events, several Masters tournaments and the Olympics. He was a Davis Cup member from 1992 until his retirement in 2018. He finished his ATP career with a record of 1062–488.

Personal Life

Daniel Nestor married Natasha Gavrilovic in 2005. They have two children together and live in the Bahamas.

Honours

Daniel Nestor was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2010. His investiture noted: “As Canada’s best-known tennis player, Daniel Nestor has distinguished himself as an ambassador and role model for the sport. Having won more than 70 major doubles tournaments since turning professional in 1991, he is one of the world's most decorated players.”

Nestor was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2011 and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2024. In 2012, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws from York University and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He was inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2018.

Awards

• Male Player of the Year, Tennis Canada (1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
• ATP Doubles Team of the Year (2002, 2004, 2008)
• ITF Doubles World Champion (2002, 2008)
• Davis Cup Commitment Award (2012)