Belgrade, 1985
Cold courts
He started playing in Belgrade at the age of nine. "It was freezing cold because that was the only time we could get a court and there were a lot of travel restrictions," he recalled in 2017.
Source: ATP TourThe 21st century
Nenad Zimonjić
Serbia · born Belgrade, 1976 · right-handed · Wimbledon doubles champion with Daniel Nestor in 2008 and 2009, mixed champion in 2014
Doubles world No. 1 2008
Davis Cup winner 2010
All playersBack to the rankings
3
Wimbledon titles: men's doubles 2008 and 2009, mixed doubles 2014
5
Wimbledon finals, 2004 to 2014: four in men's doubles, one in mixed
26
Points in the first-set tie-break of the 2008 final, the most in a Wimbledon men's doubles final
73
Wimbledon matches won in men's and mixed doubles
50
Weeks as world No. 1 in doubles, first reached on 17 November 2008
Playing career
Zimonjić was born in Belgrade in 1976 and began playing at nine, at a time when court time was scarce and travel restricted. His first tour-level win came in a Davis Cup doubles for Yugoslavia in May 1995, the year he turned professional. In singles he reached No. 176 in 1999, the year he reached the third round at Wimbledon, and his one win over a top-10 player came against Andre Agassi at St. Pölten in 2004.
Doubles made his name. He won the 2004 Australian Open mixed with Elena Bovina, the first of five mixed titles at the majors, and in 2006 he won Halle and reached the Wimbledon final with Fabrice Santoro. After the 2007 US Open he joined the Canadian Daniel Nestor. From October 2007 to November 2010 they won 26 titles together, among them Wimbledon in 2008 and 2009 and Roland Garros in 2010, and Zimonjić first became world No. 1 on 17 November 2008.
He played in Serbia's first Davis Cup winning team in 2010 and captained the side from 2017 to 2020. He won 54 tour doubles titles, and in 2017 became the tenth man to win 700 doubles matches. In June 2018 he had both hips replaced in a single operation and returned to the tour at Sofia in February 2019. At Wimbledon he kept playing in the invitation doubles, winning the mixed event with Marion Bartoli in 2022 and with Rennae Stubbs in 2023.
On grass
| Wimbledon men's doubles finals | 2004 with Julian Knowle: lost to Jonas Björkman and Todd Woodbridge 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. 2006 with Fabrice Santoro: lost to Bob and Mike Bryan 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. 2008 with Daniel Nestor: beat Björkman and Kevin Ullyett 7-6 (14-12), 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-3. 2009 with Nestor: beat the Bryans 7-6 (9-7), 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 |
|---|---|
| Record tie-break | The 14-12 first-set tie-break of the 2008 final, 26 points, is the longest in any Wimbledon men's doubles final. Both the 2008 and 2009 finals lasted 160 minutes |
| Wimbledon mixed | 2014 with Samantha Stosur, seeded 15: beat Max Mirnyi and Chan Hao-ching 6-4, 6-2 in 56 minutes on Centre Court |
| Other grass finals | Won Halle in 2006 with Santoro, beating Michael Kohlmann and Rainer Schüttler 6-0, 6-4, and Queen's in 2008 with Nestor, beating Marcelo Melo and André Sá 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Lost the Halle final of 2007 with Santoro and the Queen's final of 2015 with Marcin Matkowski |
| Invitation doubles | Won the Wimbledon mixed invitation event in 2022 with Marion Bartoli, beating Todd Woodbridge and Cara Black 7-6 (7-1), 6-1, and in 2023 with Rennae Stubbs, beating Greg Rusedski and Conchita Martínez 6-2, 6-2; runner-up in 2024 with Barbara Schett |
Every grass title: 5
Show every title, tournament by tournament
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Men's doubles | with Daniel Nestor |
| 2009 | Men's doubles | with Daniel Nestor |
| 2014 | Mixed doubles | with Samantha Stosur |
| Halle | ||
| 2006 | Men's doubles | with Fabrice Santoro |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 2008 | Men's doubles | with Daniel Nestor |
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
"In 2008 at Wimbledon, I felt a really strong pain in my groin after one match with Daniel Nestor."
Anecdotes
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon, 2008
The pain behind the title
During the 2008 Championships he felt a strong pain in his groin after a match with Nestor. Clay Sniteman of the ATP sent him for a CT scan and X-ray, which found serious damage to his right hip, with the cartilage already below 50 per cent. He went on to win the title and played through about ten years of pain.
Source: ATP TourBelgrade, December 2008
Twins and No. 1
He married the former model Mina Knežević in 2008. Their twins, Leon and Luna, were born on 3 December 2008, a little over two weeks after he first became world No. 1 in doubles.
Source: WikipediaBelgrade, December 2010
Shaved heads
Serbia won its first Davis Cup by beating France 3-2 in the final. The players shaved their heads to celebrate, the main celebration was held in Belgrade in front of several thousand fans, and the Serbian postal service issued a stamp of the team.
Source: WikipediaGarmisch-Partenkirchen, 2018
One tournament with new hips
On 8 June 2018 both his hips were replaced in a single operation. He had joked with his wife that he would like to play just one tournament with both hips replaced, and seven months later he did, at Sofia with Mate Pavić. "I am coming back because I love the sport," he said.
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
- Find a grass court near you
Rivals and partners
On Grass Tennis Club
Elsewhere online
Sources
- Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)
- "Nenad Zimonjic's return to ATP Tour after hip surgery", ATP Tour, 2019
- "Tribute: Zimonjic celebrates 700th doubles match win", ATP Tour, 2017
- Nenad Zimonjić, Olympedia
- Nenad Zimonjić, Wikipedia
- Nenad Zimonjić career statistics, Wikipedia
- GTC roll of grass champions, checked against a second source where one exists
Page updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
