Canadian tennis star Daniel Nestor was nominated into the Class of 2023 of the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Monday.
Nestor, who is among seven recurring nominees in the player category, is an eight-time Grand Slam doubles champion and four-time Grand Slam winner in mixed doubles in a career that spanned from 1991 to 2018.
The 50-year-old also won Olympic gold in 2000 and was the top-ranked doubles player for over 100 weeks. He won four ATP Tour Finals doubles titles and became the first player to win 1,000 ATP doubles matches.
“It’s overwhelming for me to be named in the same breath as the greatest players of all time,” said Nestor. “I really appreciate God, my family, friends, coaches and partners who helped me achieve this nomination. Congratulations to the other nominees listed on the 2023 ballot, who have all had incredible careers in esports.”
Candidates for the 2023 vote will go before the official voting panel, which includes media, Hall of Famers and tennis historians. The top three candidates in the fan voting, which runs from October 20th to 30th, will receive additional percentage points to their number of votes from the official voting group.
In order to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, a candidate must receive a vote of at least 75 percent of the total of the official voting panel and any additional points from the fan vote.
The other nominees are Cara Black, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Ana Ivanovic, Carlos Moya, Flavia Pennetta and Lisa Raymond. Esther Vergeer and Rick Draney are nominees in the wheelchair tennis category.
With the voting process completed by both the fans and the official voting panel, the candidates for the Class of 2023 will be announced early next year.
The induction ceremony itself is scheduled to take place on July 22, 2023.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 17, 2022.