Daniel Nestor named the 2010 Most Outstanding Tennis Male Player

Tennis Canada announced Thursday that Toronto-native Daniel Nestor has been named the 2010 Most Outstanding Male Player. The 38-year-old doubles veteran enjoyed another exceptional tennis season that included a Grand Slam title, six ATP World Tour championships and a year-end individual doubles ranking of No. 3 in the world. Nestor has now earned the recognition as Canada’s Male Player of the Year for the fourth consecutive season and 10th time overall since 1997.

“As has been the case for many years now, Daniel was the pillar of excellence for Canadian tennis in 2010,” said Hatem McDadi, vice-president, tennis development, Tennis Canada. “His accomplishments in the tennis world speak for themselves and we could not have a better ambassador for our country in the sport. He is more than deserving of this honour again this year.”

Nestor and his Serbian partner, Nenad Zimonjic, finished the year as the No. 2 doubles team in the world with a 58-19 record. They started the year strong, capturing the title at Sydney and moving on to the final at the Australian Open where they fell to the world No. 1 team Mike and Bob Bryan. 

Nestor/Zimonjic captured titles at Rotterdam, Masters 1000 Monte Carlo and Barcelona before winning the French Open, Nestor’s sixth Grand Slam championship. The duo capped off the season, and their partnership, with year-end wins at Vienna and the ATP World Tour Finals in London. They also reached three additional finals at Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Madrid, as well as the Swiss Indoors Basel.

“I’m very honoured to receive this award and to have had the success I’ve had not only this year but throughout my career,” said Nestor. “I’m looking  forward to next year and hopefully maintaining the same level of play and garnering great results.”

Nestor also remains a dedicated member of the Miele Canadian Davis Cup team as both coach and player. He represented Canada in two Davis Cup ties in 2010 posting a 2-0 record in doubles and improving his win-loss total to 27-4.

Going into 2011, Nestor is the active career doubles title leader with 71, which also puts him at No. 5 on the Open Era titles list; 12 behind all-time leader Todd Woodbridge. His 2010 year-end individual ranking of No. 3 earned him a Top 10 finish for the 10th consecutive season. He will form a new partnership next year with fellow Top 10 doubles player Max Mirnyi of
Belarus.

In addition to the award, Nestor will be honoured during Rogers Cup presented by National Bank in Montreal this summer and Tennis Canada will make a $1,000 contribution on behalf of Nestor to the charity of his choice. 

All remaining Tennis Canada Excellence Awards will be named in early 2011.

Year   Male Player of the Year          Female Player of the Year

1982 Rejean Genois (Laval, QC)      Marjorie Blackwood (Whistler, BC)
1983 Glenn Michibata (Toronto, ON)      Carling Bassett (Toronto, ON)
1984 Martin Wostenholme (Toronto, ON)      Carling Bassett (Toronto, ON)
1985 Glenn Michibata (Toronto, ON)      Carling Bassett (Toronto, ON)
1986 Andrew Sznajder (Toronto, ON)      Helen Kelesi (Toronto, ON)
1987 Grant Connell (Vancouver, BC)      Helen Kelesi (Toronto, ON)
1988 Andrew Sznajder (Toronto, ON)      Jill Hetherington (Brampton, ON)
1989 Andrew Sznajder (Toronto, ON)      Helen Kelesi (Toronto, ON)
1990 Grant Connell (Vancouver, BC)      Helen Kelesi (Toronto, ON)
1991 Grant Connell (Vancouver, BC)      Patricia Hy (Montreal, QC)
1992 Grant Connell (Vancouver, BC)      Patricia Hy (Montreal, QC)
1993 Greg Rusedski (Montreal, QC)       Patricia Hy (Montreal, QC)
1994 Sebastien Lareau (Montreal, QC)    Jana Nejedly (Vancouver, BC)
1995 Grant Connell (Vancouver, BC)       Patricia Hy-Boulais (Montreal, QC)
1996 Sebastien Lareau (Montreal, QC)    Patricia Hy-Boulais (Montreal, QC)
1997 Daniel Nestor (Toronto, ON)        Patricia Hy- Boulais (Montreal, QC)
1998 No record of award
1999 No record of award
2000 Daniel Nestor & Sebastien Lareau      Sonya Jeyaseelan (New Westminster, BC)
2001 Daniel Nestor (Toronto)                     Jana Nejedly (Vancouver, BC)
2002 Frederic Niemeyer (Sherbrooke, QC)      Maureen Drake (Toronto, ON)
2003 Daniel Nestor (Toronto, ON)               Maureen Drake (Toronto, ON)
2004 Daniel Nestor (Toronto, ON)              Aleksandra Wozniak (Blainville, QC)
2005 Daniel Nestor (Toronto, ON)              Stephanie Dubois (Laval, QC)
2006 Frank Dancevic (Niagara Falls, ON)      Aleksandra Wozniak (Blainville, QC)
2007 Daniel Nestor (Toronto, ON)              Stephanie Dubois (Laval, QC)
2008 Daniel Nestor (Toronto, ON)            Aleksandra Wozniak (Blainville, QC)
2009 Daniel Nestor (Toronto, ON)           Aleksandra Wozniak (Blainville, QC)
2010 Daniel Nestor (Toronto, ON)          Rebecca Marino (Vancouver, BC)