Nestor notches career doubles win number 1000
Olympic champion Daniel Nestor reached 1000 career doubles wins after defeating Jeremy Chardy and Leander Paes with Brazilian partner Marcelo Melo in Sydney on Monday.
Nestor is the first doubles player to log 1000 wins in the Open Era. This historic win was the first time Nestor teamed up Melo, ranked No. 1 in the world in men’s doubles. The pair won both sets, beating their opponents 6-4, 6-4.
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Daniel Nestor at 2014 Rogers Cup.
The momentous 1000-win mark comes in the same city where Nestor says he enjoyed his greatest triumph. At Sydney 2000 Nestor captured Canada’s only Olympic medal in tennis, after he and partner Sébastien Lareau won gold in the men’s doubles event.
“The gold medal for sure was probably the initial highlight, winning here in Sydney in 2000 against (Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde) and their hometown crowd,” Nestor was quoted in a Tennis Canada release. “It was a very tough match and we were able to pull through and that was my first major title.”
Nestor is currently Canada’s top ranked men’s double player at no. 18 in the world. The Canadian’s professional career began in 1991, since then he has climbed the tennis ranks building an impressive resume of 88 titles, which is third on the all-time doubles list. If Nestor wins another tournament this season it will be the 23rd consecutive season he brought home a trophy.
Sebastien Lareau (left) and Daniel Nestor of Canada hold up their gold medals after winning them in men’s doubles tennis at the Olympic Games in Sydney Australia Wednesday Sept 27, 2000. (CP PHOTO/Tom Hanson)
This season Nestor will look to be named to his sixth Olympic team, having competed in the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. With Rio 2016 on the horizon, tennis fans will have to wait and see if Nestor will return to the Games, something he discussed at the 2015 Rogers Cup.
The 1000-win mark has been achieved by only three singles players in the Open Era: Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer.
