Sports stats



Caps' Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor honored as world's No. 1 in doubles

December 17, 2004 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Sacramento Capitals News Release


Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor celebrated their outstanding 2004 season in November when they received the ATP Doubles Race trophy by Waterford Crystal for finishing as the year-end World No. 1 team for the second time in three years.

Knowles and Nestor captured five titles this season, including their second career Grand Slam at the U.S. Open and two ATP Masters Series tournaments in Cincinnati and Madrid. They also earned titles in Marseille and Barcelona. During the year they surpassed 300 match wins as a team.

"It's a real honor to finish the year No.1 and to do it twice in three years is wonderful given the level of competition out there. We're very excited about it – it's thrilling," Knowles said.

Even though Knowles and Nestor were defeated 6-2, 6-4 by the Bryan Brothers in the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston, that did not drag down their spirits.

"We're very happy and feel that we deserve the ranking after beating all the good teams this year," said Nestor. "It's been quite a different path to No. 1 this time around. In 2002, we got off to a hot start winning the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami and then reaching the finals of the French. This year we got off to a slower start but heated up towards the end."

Knowles, of the Bahamas, and Nestor, of Canada, won their first title together in 1994 and have won 28 teams titles in all. They advanced to the semifinals of Tennis Masters Cup Doubles with a 3-0 round-robin record.

When Knowles handed off the trophy so that he could sign autographs, it dropped and shattered. So he will have it replaced!

On a lighter note, Knowles was interviewed by Rick Barry on the Giant 680 KNBR on December 6th. Barry and Knowles have teamed up the last two summers in a doubles exhibition played prior to a match during the Capitals season. After Barry pointed out what a terrific year Knowles had, the Bahamian facetiously said: "Yeah, another great year, obviously fueled by your inspiration this past summer..."

Knowles, who said he was psyched to play another season for the Sacramento Capitals, held his annual celebrity charity event in the Bahamas over the December 4-5 weekend, featuring Jennifer Capriati, Todd Martin and WTT Female MVP and Rookie of the 2004 season, Nicole Vaidisova.

Next year, Rick Barry?

• Discuss this story on the World TeamTennis message board...

World TeamTennis Stories from December 17, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Sacramento Capitals Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central