Few Canadian tennis players have enjoyed such great moments as Daniel Nestor. One of the world's top doubles players for the last few years, he reached one of the pinnacles of his sport by winning Olympic gold with partner Sébastien Lareau at the 2000 Games. The pair beat the legendary Woodies, Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde of Australia, the 1996 Olympic champions, in the final.
Lareau has since retired and Nestor is scheduled to join forces in men's doubles with Frederic Niemeyer of Deauville, Que., in Athens. "We're not favored to win which is kind of nice sometimes," said Nestor.
Nestor is currently #9 on the ATP World ranking and #1 in Canada. He and regular partner Mark Knowles of Bahamas are second atop the ATP Champions Race. Nestor holds 34 career doubles titles including one Grand Slam (Australian Open, 2002) and two this year in Marseille and Barcelona.
Nestor and Niemeyer are also in contention to play singles at the Games provided they gain wildcard spots. The International Tennis Federation will announce the singles draw in late July.
