Nestor has seen all of this before

THE CANADIAN PRESS

SHANGHAI, China -- As he roams the corridors of the massive Qi Zhong stadium, Daniel Nestor can't help but be reminded of the past.

The Toronto native is the defending doubles champion at the season-ending Masters Cup, which begins Sunday, but he won the title with former partner Mark Knowles of the Bahamas. The Canadian is looking to reclaim the crown but will have to do it this time with Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic.

"It's strange to walk down the hall and see pictures of last year's winners," Nestor said. "And in the next hall, there are pictures of all of this year's teams. But that's all part of tennis."

Nestor and Knowles split midway through last season after Nestor decided he wanted a change. He joined forces with Zimonjic but was reunited with Knowles in Shanghai because the duo had qualified as a team before they went their separate ways.

Nestor, 36, said there are no hard feelings between he and Knowles.

"We've put it behind us," Nestor said.

But he admits last year's tournament will still be hard to forget when he takes to the court next week.

"Winning last year with Mark will always be in the back of the mind, but it's something I have to overlook and overcome," he said. "It's a new situation now, Nenad and I have proved that we can also win the big events."

Nestor and Zimonjic won the Wimbledon doubles title earlier this year.

The Shanghai tournament is for the world's top eight singles players and doubles teams. The second-seeded Nestor and Zimonjic open round-robin play Monday against Poland's Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski, who entered the eight-team field after the injury withdrawal of Israelis Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram.

Nestor said he and Zimonjic haven't had the best preparation.

"But we're ready to start playing well again at the right time," he said. "This is always a tough event with the best eight in the world and you have to be ready to go from the start."

Nestor and Zimonjic lost to Fyrstenberg and Matkowski in their most recent meeting in Madrid last month. They then went on to lose their final two regular-season matches of the year.

"We won in Toronto (in August) but after that our level slipped a bit," said Nestor. "It was not great, but what can you do.

"But overall, we've had a good year even though we've lost a few tough matches."

Knowles is in the field as the world No. 3 pairing with Indian partner Mahesh Bhupathi.

"We go into a tough match with the Polish guys. Of course we are ranked higher and are seeded," said Nestor. "But they are playing well and we have to come out fighting from the start if we want to get away with the win."

The doubles final is set for Nov. 16.