Only three singles players – Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Roger Federer – have passed the 1,000 match wins milestone in the 44-year history of the ATP World Tour. Today, the sport’s first doubles player, Daniel Nestor, 43 years young, has achieved the feat.

The cut and thrust nature of professional doubles does not lend itself to patience, so when a team experiences a string of losses morale inevitably suffers and each player begins to look elsewhere. So it is incredible that over the past 23 seasons, the Canadian has won matches with 33 partners – from his very first victory with Sebastian Lareau at Auckland in January 1993 to today’s win with Marcelo Melo in the Apia Sydney International first round.

Nestor has ranked among the finest doubles players for the past 20 years, a product of his dedication, commitment, longevity and, most importantly, desire to adapt and evolve. In 15 of the past 20 seasons, he has been among the Top 10 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings – including two year-end No. 1 finishes in 2004 and 2008.

“When I first started playing with Mark Knowles [in 1995] that was my best season and when I felt I was a top player,” Nestor told ATPWorldTour.com. “It was king of sporadic. I’d had big wins with Sebastian Lareau, some good tournaments but confidence wise it took longer in singles than in doubles. When I played against the best players I felt confident immediately.”

His greatest success have come with four partners: Knowles (464 wins, 40 titles, including three majors); Nenad Zimonjic (227 wins, 27 titles, including three majors); Max Mirnyi (90 wins, eight titles, including two majors) and his compatriot Lareau (60 wins, five titles, including the 2000 Sydney Olympics gold medal). He has lifted 88 doubles titles overall – third in the all-time list.

“It’s an incredible achievement,” Knowles told ATPWorldTour.com. “He has had a remarkably long career and has been able to achieve tremendous success throughout. I was fortunate to be on the same side of the net with Daniel for so many of those victories. He continues to adapt to a changing environment and finds motivation where others might not. One thousands wins is nothing short of spectacular. Congratulations!”

Laconic and laid back, with a sharp sense of humour, Nestor has never taken himself too seriously. But the stress to remain among the elite takes its toll. “I am competitive, I have always felt the losses more than enjoyed the wins,” said Nestor.

“You have these tough losses that you deem are far worse, if you deem to get better. I have tried to be the best I can be. I have regrets in singles, but in doubles, I have felt I have done everything that I could. It takes a lot out of you, the stress. I’m one of the guys who is a perfectionist, so little things bother me; when I haven’t played so well at big tournaments; leads to fatigue later in tournaments.”

Nestor has never possessed a big weapon: a devastating serve or blistering forehand, like so many in the modern era, yet his all-round game has been consistently spectacular. Only in humid conditions does his body react, as he experienced with Knowles en route to the 2002 Rogers Cup final. “I have had to work the most on my physical strength as my fitness and footwork was always an issue,” said Nestor. “So I’ve always worked hard off-court, rather than tennis stuff.”

“His longevity is pretty amazing,” Mike Bryan told ATPWorldTour.com. “He’s been one of the top players in the world for so long and he’s the only guy to beat us 25 plus times. We hate playing the guy he makes life tough. He’s one of the most talented players to ever play the game of doubles – his slinky lefty serve, his hands around the net, great return, great athlete and he’s still playing at age 43.” Bob Bryan told ATPWorldTour.com, “He will be in the Hall of Fame soon, it’s an incredible career. We congratulate him on all he’s done for the sport tennis and for doubles.”

“It’s amazing that he still plays at a really high level, and to get to 1,000 wins is something that very few guys will achieve in their careers,” Zimonjic told ATPWorldTour.com. “He’s won pretty much everything, a legend of our sport. He’s an example to the rest of us that if you stay professional, if you still enjoy it, if you love the game you can try to do the same. I’m really, really happy for him.”

In May last year, Nestor was sure that Mike Bryan (970 wins) or Bob Bryan (956) would achieve the match wins milestone before him. He never expected to play tour-level events for 28 years, and five years after indicating his desire to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics, he keeps mixing it with the world’s best. Today, he assured himself of sporting immortality.

DANIEL NESTOR – BY THE NUMBERS (As of 11 January 2016)

MATCH WINS AND TITLES BY PARTNER

1,000 MATCH WINS CLUB

MOST DOUBLES MATCH WINS

MATCH WINS AND TITLES BY COUNTRY

DOUBLES MATCH WINS MILESTONES

* indicates went on to win the title

MATCH WINS BY YEAR

Statistical assistance courtesy of Graham Agars, Josh Rey and Greg Sharko and Josh Rey

Fifth seed Andreas Seppi, who is making his 11th consecutive trip to Sydney, kicked off his tournament with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win over Denis Istomin on Monday.

The 2013 semi-finalist (l. to Tomic) improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Istomin to 8-3. The Italian overcame a slow start to secure the first set, then saw the Uzbek fight back from a break down in the second set to force a decider.

Seppi, whose only hard-court loss to Istomin came in a five-set thriller at the 2013 US Open, then took over the match, racing to a 4-0 lead before closing out the win in one hour and 42 minutes.

Aussie wild card Jordan Thompson, making his Sydney main draw debut, earned his first ATP World Tour main draw victory on Monday when Martin Klizan retired while 6-2, 4-0 down. The 21 year old, No. 149 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, fired five aces and did not face a break. In the second round, Thompson will face top seed and countryman Bernard Tomic.

Jack Sock wasted no time in advancing to the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland on Monday, disposing of Victor Estrella Burgos 6-0, 6-4 in 49 minutes. Sock improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Estrella Burgos to 2-0, having eliminated the Dominican in straight sets at the 2015 US Open. Sock only lost two points on his first serve (20/22) and did not face a break point during the match.

In the second round, Sock will meet the winner between doubles partner and good friend Vasek Pospisil, and seventh seed Ivo Karlovic. The pair is set to square off Monday night.

Other players in action included American Donald Young, who eliminated New Zealand wild card Finn Tearney 6-2, 6-3 in 66 minutes. The 25 year-old Tearney, No. 365 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, was making his ATP World Tour main draw debut.

Sock and Young’s compatriot Steve Johnson did not have a successful outing on Monday, falling to Australian qualifier Matthew Barton 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Barton, ranked No. 299, hit 13 aces and saved five of six break points to earn his first ATP World Tour main draw victory.

A LOOK BACK
City of Onkaparinga ATP Challenger (Happy Valley, Australia): The meteoric rise of Taylor Fritz continued, with the 18-year-old American claiming his third ATP Challenger Tour title on the hard courts of Happy Valley. Fritz turned aside top seed Dudi Sela 7-6(7), 6-2 on Sunday, denying the Israeli veteran a historic 20th Challenger title. It marked the second straight year that an 18 year old had clinched his third crown, with Fritz joining Hyeon Chung. One of 10 teens in the Top 200 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, the Rancho Santa Fe native rises to a career-high position of World No. 153. He will seek his first Grand Slam main draw berth when he battles in Australian Open qualifying this week.

Champion at the Happy Valley Challenger? Starting off the year right in Australia? ??? #AnothaOne #TitleTown #HappyValleyCH

— Taylor Fritz (@Taylor_Fritz97) January 10, 2016

Watch Interview (video courtesy Tennis Australia)

Bangkok Open (Bangkok, Thailand): Third seed Mikhail Youzhny waited a record 15 years, five months from claiming his first ATP Challenger Tour title to lifting his second trophy in Eckental in early November. It seems the former World No. 8 has rediscovered his winning groove. Youzhny earned his second title in as many months, defeating Go Soeda 6-3, 6-4 in Bangkok. The 33-year-old Russian is now on the precipice of a return to the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, rising to World No. 106. Soeda, meanwhile, was bidding for his 18th Challenger title.

Challenger BNP Paribas Noumea (Noumea, New Caledonia): Top seed Adrian Mannarino streaked to his second Noumea title in four years, topping second seed and 2014 champion Alejandro Falla 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. It was Mannarino’s 11th ATP Challenger Tour title, extending his winning run in finals to six straight. He previously prevailed in Noumea in 2013 (d. Martin). The World No. 47 is coming off a career year, having reached his first ATP World Tour finals in Auckland and Bogota and first Round of 16 at a Masters 1000 event, in Indian Wells.

Torneo de Mendoza (Mendoza, Argentina): The lone event on clay was held in Mendoza, Argentina, where eighth seed Gerald Melzer rallied from a set and a break down to defeat Axel Michon 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the final. The Austrian reeled off 10 of the last 11 games to claim his second Challenger title, having previously triumphed on the hard courts of Morelos, Mexico two years ago. The highlight of Melzer’s 2015 season was a surprise run to the semi-finals at the ATP World Tour 250 event in Munich as a qualifier.

WHAT’S AHEAD
The Australian summer of tennis continues in Canberra, where nine Top 100 players are in the draw. In 2015, only five events featured all seeds in the Top 100. Paolo Lorenzi is the top seed, joined by Santiago Giraldo and ATP Challenger Tour Finals runner-up Daniel Munoz-de la Nava. Young guns Yoshihito Nishioka, Noah Rubin and Stefanos Tsitsipas are also present.

For the second straight week, Bangkok hosts an ATP Challenger Tour event, where top seed Mikhail Youzhny looks to go back-to-back. Also, on the clay of Buenos Aires, Gerald Melzer seeks a second title in as many weeks.

View Draws & Watch Free Live Streams

ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: New in 2016, the ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallengerTour at twitter.com/ATPChallengerTour.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga may have been hard at work preparing for the start of his 2016 campaign, but the No. 2 seed at the ASB Classic took some time out on Sunday for a trip and a snack.

Tsonga visited Sky Tower, the tallest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere. After creating his own sundae at the Kapiti Sky Café, he ventured up to the observation level and explored Auckland from 328m above street level.

The 12-time ATP World Tour title-winner is making his Auckland debut. He has a first-round bye and will face either Philipp Kohlschreiber or Benjamin Becker in the second round.