The 21st century
Bahamas · born Nassau, 1971 · right-handed · Wimbledon mixed doubles champion 2009 with Anna-Lena Grönefeld, after doubles titles at the other three majors
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1
Wimbledon title: mixed doubles 2009 with Anna-Lena Grönefeld
112
Matches played at Wimbledon, 1992 to 2013 (71 won)
6 h 9 min
2006 quarter-final with Nestor, won 23-21 in the fifth set
2
Queen's doubles titles with Daniel Nestor, 2003 and 2007
5
Olympic Games for the Bahamas, 1992 to 2008
Mark Samuel Knowles was born in Nassau on 4 September 1971, the son of two tennis coaches, and won a scholarship to Nick Bollettieri's academy in Florida as a boy. He played three seasons at UCLA, where he was an All-American in singles and doubles, and turned professional in 1992. He reached No. 96 in singles, the joint-highest ranking by a Bahamian man, but made his career in doubles.
With the Canadian left-hander Daniel Nestor he formed one of the great teams of the era: they won the Australian Open in 2002, the US Open in 2004 and the French Open in 2007, reached No. 1 and were ATP team of the year in 2002 and 2004. Wimbledon was the one major they could not win together; they lost the 2002 final. After he and Nestor split in 2007, Knowles played two seasons with Mahesh Bhupathi, and in 2009 he finally won at Wimbledon, in the mixed doubles with the German Anna-Lena Grönefeld.
He played Davis Cup for the Bahamas for more than 13 years and five Olympic Games, served as vice-president of the ATP Player Council, and in 2012 in San Jose, aged 40, became the first man over 40 since John McEnroe to win a tour-level doubles title. He retired in 2012, played one last Wimbledon in 2013 and became a television commentator and coach.
| Wimbledon mixed 2009 | Seeded ninth with Anna-Lena Grönefeld; beat the top seeds Leander Paes and Cara Black 7-5, 6-3 on Centre Court in 88 minutes, after trailing 5-2 in the first set |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon doubles final 2002 | Seeded second with Daniel Nestor; lost to Jonas Björkman and Todd Woodbridge 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (7-9), 7-5 on No.1 Court |
| Wimbledon 2006 quarter-final | With Nestor beat Simon Aspelin and Todd Perry 5-7, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 23-21 over two days on No.2 Court, 6 hours 9 minutes, at the time the longest match in Wimbledon history |
| Queen's Club | 2003: with Nestor beat Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). 2004: lost the final to Bob and Mike Bryan 6-4, 6-4. 2007: beat the Bryans 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 |
| Nottingham 2002 | With Mike Bryan beat the defending champions Donald Johnson and Jared Palmer 0-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Mixed doubles | with Anna-Lena Grönefeld |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 2003 | Men's doubles | with Daniel Nestor |
| 2007 | Men's doubles | with Daniel Nestor |
| Nottingham | ||
| 2002 | Men's doubles | with Mike Bryan |
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
"I've always wanted to win Wimbledon. It's the most important tournament in my mind"
The person behind the player.
Nassau
The Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association credits his parents with his work ethic. Both were tennis coaches, and his English-born mother was the first woman tennis professional in the Bahamas. He showed talent young enough to win a scholarship to Nick Bollettieri's academy, then played three seasons at UCLA before turning professional.
Source: Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association; WikipediaWimbledon, July 2006
On 5 July 2006 Knowles and Nestor began their quarter-final against Simon Aspelin and Todd Perry on the old No.2 Court. It finished the next day, after 6 hours 9 minutes, with a 23-21 fifth set, then the longest match ever played at Wimbledon.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Wimbledon, 2009
He and Grönefeld were 5-2 down in the first set of the final against the top seeds. "I actually said to Anna on the changeover, 'Let's stay positive,'" he said. "I think that attitude helped us turn it around." Their final came on the day of the Federer and Roddick men's singles final, and he admitted that after such a thrilling encounter it was pretty tough to follow.
Source: Taipei TimesSan Jose, 2012
Partnering Xavier Malisse at the 2012 SAP Open, he became the first man aged 40 or over to win a tour-level doubles title since John McEnroe. Months earlier the pair had won the Farmers Classic on the UCLA campus where he played college tennis, his 54th title.
Source: Bahamas Lawn Tennis AssociationOff court
His hobbies are golf, spearfishing and free diving. Since 2001 he has run an annual charity event in Nassau, and in 2017 he started a company that helps athletes relocate to the Bahamas.
Source: ATP Tour biographyFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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