Toronto
A two-dollar racquet
His father gave him a two-dollar tennis racquet at the age of seven, and he learned to play with his older brother in a local park. He played his first Canadian Open in 1989, aged 16.
Source: Canada's Sports Hall of FameThe 21st century
Daniel Nestor
Canada · born Belgrade, 1972 · left-handed · Wimbledon doubles champion 2008 and 2009, mixed 2013
All playersBack to the rankings
1,048
Tour doubles wins, the most in the Open Era
91
Tour doubles titles
3
Wimbledon titles: doubles 2008 and 2009, mixed 2013
4
Queen's Club doubles titles, 2003 to 2012
26
Points in the first-set tiebreak of the 2008 final, a Wimbledon doubles record
Playing career
Daniel Nestor was born Danijel Nestorović in Belgrade on 4 September 1972 and moved to Toronto with his parents in 1976. He trained in the gifted athletes programme at Earl Haig Secondary School and turned professional in 1991. In 1992, aged 19 and ranked 238th, he beat the world No. 1 Stefan Edberg in five sets in a Davis Cup tie in Vancouver, the result that made his name.
A left-hander with a heavy serve, he became one of the great doubles players. With Mark Knowles of the Bahamas he won the 2002 Australian Open, the 2004 US Open and the 2007 French Open and reached No. 1; with Nenad Zimonjić he won Wimbledon in 2008, completing a career Grand Slam in men's doubles, and again in 2009. He won the French Open three more times from 2010 to 2012, Olympic gold in Sydney in 2000 with Sébastien Lareau, four season-ending titles, 28 Masters 1000 titles and four Grand Slam mixed titles, including Wimbledon in 2013 with Kristina Mladenovic. In January 2016 he became the first player to win 1,000 tour doubles matches.
He played Davis Cup for Canada from 1992 until he retired in 2018, and six Olympics. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2010 and entered the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2018 and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
On grass
| Wimbledon doubles finals | 2002: with Mark Knowles lost to Jonas Björkman and Todd Woodbridge 6-1, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5. 2008: with Nenad Zimonjić beat Björkman and Kevin Ullyett 7-6 (14-12), 6-7, 6-3, 6-3. 2009: with Zimonjić beat Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 2006 quarter-final | With Knowles beat Simon Aspelin and Todd Perry 5-7, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 23-21 on No.2 Court over two days, six hours and nine minutes, at the time the longest match played at the Championships |
| Wimbledon mixed 2013 | Seeded eighth with Kristina Mladenovic, beat the top seeds Bruno Soares and Lisa Raymond 5-7, 6-2, 8-6 |
| New No.1 Court, 1997 | Played Tim Henman in the first match on the new No.1 Court, and served the first ball on it |
| Grass tour titles | Halle 2001 with Sandon Stolle; Queen's 2003 and 2007 with Knowles, 2008 with Zimonjić and 2012 with Max Mirnyi; Nottingham 2016 with Dominic Inglot, at 43. His best Wimbledon singles run was to the fourth round in 1999 |
Every grass title: 9
Show every title, tournament by tournament
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Men's doubles | with Nenad Zimonjić |
| 2009 | Men's doubles | with Nenad Zimonjić |
| 2013 | Mixed doubles | with Kristina Mladenovic |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 2003 | Men's doubles | with Mark Knowles |
| 2007 | Men's doubles | with Mark Knowles |
| 2008 | Men's doubles | with Nenad Zimonjić |
| 2012 | Men's doubles | with Max Mirnyi |
| Halle | ||
| 2001 | Men's doubles | with Sandon Stolle |
| Nottingham | ||
| 2016 | Men's doubles | with Dominic Inglot |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"Wimbledon has the most history and tradition of any tournament. Being the only Canadian to win, it is very special."
Anecdotes
The person behind the player.
Vancouver, 1992
Beating Edberg
Months after losing in the second round of the Canadian Nationals, the 19-year-old Canada No. 2 met Stefan Edberg in the Davis Cup. Serving for the match at 5-2 in the fifth set he was broken, but he closed it out with a backhand down the line. "It's a team effort. The guys were behind me and they made me believe I could win this match," he said. Canada still lost the tie 3-2. Twenty years later Edberg told him: "You really took me by surprise, Daniel."
Source: Tennis CanadaWimbledon 1997
The first serve on No.1 Court
When the new No.1 Court opened in 1997, with ten great champions at the ceremony, the first match on it was Tim Henman against Nestor, and Nestor served the first ball.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Wimbledon 2008
Thinking of Knowles
Nestor won his first Wimbledon a year after splitting from Knowles, with whom he had won 40 of his 53 titles. He said he did not know how Knowles would react, and added: "It would be nice if he won the only tournament missing in his career." He also told reporters that he and his wife, Natasha, were expecting their first child in December.
Source: The Globe and MailOff court
Canadiens and Steelers
He follows the Montréal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and since 2003 has hosted a celebrity charity event that has raised more than $700,000 for North York General Hospital and Tennis Canada.
Source: ATP TourJoin Grass Tennis Club
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Where they won on grass
- All England Club, Wimbledon
- Queen's Club, London
- Gerry Weber Stadion, Halle
- Nottingham Tennis Centre, Nottingham
- Find a grass court near you
Rivals and partners
On Grass Tennis Club
Elsewhere online
Sources
- Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)
- Daniel Nestor, ATP Tour biography
- Daniel Nestor, The Canadian Encyclopedia
- "Daniel Nestor put Canadian tennis on the map", Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
- "Remember when: Nestor produces miracle Davis Cup upset over Edberg", Tennis Canada
- "Nestor completes Grand Slam with Wimbledon win", The Globe and Mail, 2008
- "Nestor, Zimonjic win Wimbledon doubles crown", The Daily Star (AFP), 2008
- Daniel Nestor, Olympedia
- GTC roll of grass champions, checked against a second source where one exists
Page updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
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