Daniel Nestor. Our Most Underrated National Sports Hero

Although this column is normally devoted to real estate issues, most people who know me also know that one of my other passions is tennis.  When it comes to sports, tennis is almost invisible inCanadaother than the grand slam events and the annual tournaments that come toTorontoandMontreal.  Canadians know all the star hockey players, basketball players, football players and baseball players, whether Canadian or otherwise.   However, when it comes to tennis, we have in our midst one of the most accomplished and successful tennis stars ever, albeit on the doubles side, Daniel Nestor.  Yet most people inCanadawould not recognize his name unless they were tennis fans.  It is truly a shame that all Canadians are not familiar with this wonderful representative of both the sport and our country.   Daniel Nestor has won over 80 international doubles titles including 7 grand slam titles, most recently, the French Open in 2011.  He has been a doubles winner of all 4 grand slams and an Olympic gold medal with Sebastian Lareau in the Sydney 2000 Olympic games.  He has representedCanadaon the Davis Cup for over 19 years and has the most doubles wins (29), most ties played (40) and the most total wins by a Canadian on the Davis Cup played (44).  At the age of almost 40 years old, he is the oldest active professional tennis player on the circuit and is still ranked #2 or #3 in doubles in the world.   Canadafinally recognized him in 2010 by giving him the Order of Canada and he was awarded a star onCanada’s Walk of Fame in 2011.   Daniel gives his time to numerous charitable events and events to support TennisCanadato promote the growth of the sport.  He appears at local tennis clubs and TennisCanadaevents whenever asked.  I recently had the honour of both playing with Daniel and watching him participate in an exhibition match as part of an evening hosted by Tennis Canada for its faithful supporters at the Donalda Club.   I am proud to be a Canadian and I am proud to have Daniel Nestor on our team.  All Canadians should be equally proud.