Tennis Legends - Daniel Nestor: Canadian legend who is one of three men to win a Career Doubles Golden Slam

Tuesday, 06 October 2026 at 14:30

Daniel Nestor is one of only three men, alongside Bob and Mike Bryan, to have completed a Career Golden Slam in doubles. The Bryans are the only players to have lifted more career doubles titles in the Open Era than Nestor who kept playing until he was 46.

Nestor was born on September, 4th 1972 in Belgrade, then the capital of what was Yugoslavia. His parents relocated to Ontario, Canada just before Nestor was four.

He turned professional in 1991 and made a debut for the Canadian Davis Cup team the following year. It wasn't until forming a partnership with Bahamian Mark Knowles that Nestor’s career really took off.

Success with Knowles runs alongside respectable singles career

The 1994 season gave Nestor his maiden career title. Alongside Knowles, they lifted a title in the Colombian capital Bogota.

They took this confidence boost and built on it by reaching their first Grand Slam final at the 1995 Australian Open, losing to American duo Jared Palmer and Richey Reneberg. After losing in the Masters 1000 final at Cincinnati, a second title materialised in Indianapolis. They also reached the Wimbledon semi-finals this year.

In Nestor’s first few years on tour, efforts were made to make an impact in singles in tandem with his doubles commitments. The 6ft 4 Canadian reached round two in three of the four majors in 1995.

The Canadian/Bahamian alliance picked up four titles during the 1996 campaign. This haul included their first titles at 1000 level, triumphing in Hamburg and Cincinnati.

Lose finals at Roland Garros and the US Open

Nestor and Knowles emerged victorious at the Indian Wells and Italian Open Masters tournaments in 1997. It offered a level of compensation for reaching only one major quarter-final this term.

The 1998 season saw the pair fare much better in the Grand Slams. They finished runners-up at Roland Garros. Dutch pair Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis proved too strong in the title match. Later on the year, defeat in the US Open final at the hands of Czech combination David Rikl and Jiri Novak. A couple of titles were amassed in arguably their best year to date.

In 1999, Nestor began to play with compatriot Sebastien Lareau on a more frequent basis, partly with Olympic glory in Sydney a year later on their mind. They lifted a pair of ATP 250 events together in 1999. He was still playing with Knowles but their relationship would resume more frequently from 2001.

Nestor recorded his best major singles result in 1999. His natural serve and volley game fitted nicely on the slick lawns of the All England Club. He advanced to the fourth round where his run came to an end at Pete Sampras who lifted the Wimbledon crown for a sixth time that year.

Olympic glory in Sydney with Lareau

Ahead of the primary target of Olympic gold in Sydney, Nestor and Lareau tuned up nicely with glory on home soil at the Canadian Open. This was probably the sweetest of Nestor's victories at this point with the home crowd giving it a richer flavour than his previous Masters triumphs.

Their ultimate goal was accomplished when coming from a set down to beat home favourites Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde in a four-set final. They're the only Canadians to achieve Olympic gold in tennis.

Nestor amassed a quartet of titles in the 2001 campaign with three different partners. One came with Knowles, a pair with Australian Sandon Stolle, and a trophy lift partnering Nenad Zimonjic.

Nestor reunited with Knowles on a regular basis and they win a maiden Grand Slam

The partnership of Knowles and Nestor was engaged on a regular basis again in 2002. It proved to be a trophy-laden campaign. An undoubted highlight was claiming a first Grand Slam triumph at the Australian Open. Victory over French duo Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro validating their decision to restore their partnership regularly.

A further five titles were added in their most successful campaign so far. This included the ‘Sunshine Double’ when they lifted the Indian Wells and Miami Open titles back-to-back. The Madrid 1000 was also clinched in a year that saw them lose in the finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

Daniel Nestor holding doubles title.

Llodra and Santoro exacted revenge in the 2003 Australian Open final. Knowles/Nestor failed to reach any other major finals this year but still accumulated six titles including a second Hamburg Masters success.

Second major in New York

Five titles were accrued in a 2004 campaign highlighted by glory in the US Open. Their second Grand Slam came following a straight sets win over Rikl and Leander Paes. A second Madrid Open was added to an ever increasing CV.

The 2005 season witnessed a total of four tournament victories. A third Madrid Open title, second in a row, the standout moments of a term where they didn't reach a Slam final.

In 2006, Nestor and Knowles enjoyed five trophy lifts. Amongst them, Indian Wells for a fourth time and a second Italian Open victory.

Final year for Knowles and Nestor includes French Open ecstasy

The 2007 season would turn out to be the last for Knowles and Nestor. In May, Nestor announced, much to Knowles’ annoyance, that he wanted to experience playing with a new partner. Their initial farewell was to come at Wimbledon but glory in Paris meant they carried on until the end of a tumultuous campaign.

Their third major title together came via a three-set victory over Czech pair Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner.

The remainder of their time as a team saw very little communication between them away from the court. However, despite the ill feeling, they claimed their first title at the ATP Finals.

Selects Nenad Zimonjic as new partner and they lift three majors together

A glorious summer crystallised the partnership between the Serb and former Serb. Nestor and Zimonjic lifted the Hamburg Masters before a straight sets defeat against South American duo Luis Horna and Pablo Cuevas in the French Open title match. Nestor defended the major title he'd won with Knowles a year before.

They continued this form into the grasscourt season. The Queens Club Championships was secured before a Wimbledon triumph meant Nestor had now completed a Career Golden Slam. A four set win over Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett gave them a first major together. Further titles would follow at the Canadian Open and the ATP Finals.

The 2009 season was another campaign stuffed with great highs. A total of nine titles were pocketed in Nestor's most successful ever campaign. It reached a zenith when they retained their Wimbledon title with a four-set triumph over the Bryan brothers. Another notable landmark came when they won in Monte Carlo for the first time.

2010 saw Nestor and Zimonjic achieve a return of six titles. The number included a French Open final win over Paes and Dlouhy and victory at the ATP Finals in London.

Back-to-back French Open titles with Max Mirnyi

The 2011 season saw Nestor link up with big serving Belarussian Max Mirnyi. Their highlight came at Roland Garros where they defeated Juan Sebastian Cabal and Eduardo Schwank in the final. The year finished with a triumph at the ATP Finals.

Much of the 2012 season was spent alongside Mirnyi. They beat the Bryan brothers to successfully defend their French Open title. Nestor finished the year by lifting the Swiss Indoors event with Zimonjic.

2013-2017: No more men's doubles Grand Slams in his final years but wins multiple 1000 events

Nestor lifted a solitary title in 2013 before winning three titles with Zimonjic in 2014 including Masters 1000 wins in Madrid and Rome. Nestor added three titles in 2015, one of which was a fifth triumph at the Cincinnati Masters.

Nestor appeared in his last men's doubles Grand Slam final in 2016 at the Australian Open. Playing with Czech Radek Stepanek, defeat came in three sets at the hands of Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares. This year would see the last of Nestor's 91 titles when lifting the European Open title in Belgium with Eduoard Roger-Vasselin.

He finally retired in 2018, aged 46, after winning 91 titles from 151 finals. The tally encompassed an octet of major titles from 17 finals contested.

Mixed doubles Grand Slam success and Davis Cup stalwart

The second half of Nestor's career saw him dedicate himself to the mixed doubles events at Grand Slams. Having lost the first three mixed doubles major finals he played in, things turned around when partnering Elena Likhovtseva, of Russia, they lifted the 2007 Australian Open title.

Four years later, Nestor teamed up with Katarina Srebotnik, from Slovenia, to win the Australian Open.

He would go on to add a further two mixed doubles Slams with France’s Kristina Mladenovic. They won a dramatic 2013 Wimbledon final and then six months later tasted glory in Melbourne.

Nestor served the Canadian Davis Cup team over a 26 year period from 1992. He holds a number of team records such as most ties played (53) and most matches won (48). Their best run with him in the team was a semi-final appearance in 2013.

Personal life and legacy

Nestor married Natasha Gavrilovic in 2005. They have two daughters, Tiana and Bianca, born more than four years apart. The family resides in the Bahamas.

His achievements have led to many honours including being awarded the Member of the Order of Canada in 2010. Just two years ago, Nestor was inducted into the Canada Sports Hall of Fame.

Read also

His place among the greats of doubles is unquestionable. 12 majors and 95 titles across men's and mixed doubles place him third in the Open Era for men. He's in an exclusive club of Golden slammers and very few have won titles over a period surpassing two decades.

Jay Brannon

Jay Brannon is a sports journalist from Sutton Coldfield, England, with a lifelong passion for athletic competition and storytelling. For the past 1.5 years, he has been a prominent voice at TennisUpToDate.com, where he has authored more than 3,000 articles, specializing in deep-dive columns, tactical analyses, liveblogs, and comprehensive match reports for the ATP and WTA tours.

Jay’s tennis reporting blends rigorous, real-time statistical analysis with on-the-ground coverage. He frequently travels to tournaments to cover the action firsthand from the press box and player press conferences. This direct access allows him to deliver sharp insight into player form and tour developments—a dedication sparked by his earliest sporting memory of the iconic 1991 Wimbledon final between Michael Stich and Boris Becker.

Beyond the court, Jay brings a versatile background in live broadcasting and media. His professional experience includes serving as a sports reporter for BHBN Hospital Radio—where he delivered live updates and analysis for West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers matches—as well as working as a match reporter for Sutton Coldfield Town.

Jay holds a degree in Music Journalism and Broadcasting from Staffordshire University, a foundational training that shaped his voice as a thoughtful, authentic storyteller. Grounded in core journalistic ethics, he places a strict emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and swift, verified updates.

See author's posts

claps 0visitors 0

LIVE China Open ATP Final | Advantage Novak Djokovic as history in Beijing draws closer

Write a comment

Just In

Latest Comments

Tennis News 24/7