I know you’ve all been waiting on pins and needles for the 2008 ATP World Awards to come out! Well, wait no more, tennis fans! The “Laver” goes to. . .
Roger Federer - he may be slumping on the court, but that hasn’t stopped both fans and players alike from voting him their favorite. His locker room colleagues pegged Fed for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a record fifth consecutive year – tying Edberg, himself, for most awarded player. And in a poll of tennis fans, Federer was voted “ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favourite” for the sixth time in a row – that’s like pre-dating broadband! Impressive!
Kind of makes up for losing Wimbledon, right Roger?:
“It is great to receive two more awards. It is always important for me to be a good sportsman on the court and give the right example for others to follow and hopefully inspire the next generation. It also means the world to me to be the fans’ favourite player for the sixth year in a row. The support I receive from the fans around the world is so motivating and it is humbling to receive this award once again.”
Rafael Nadal will have to make due with only being voted Best Damn Player on the ATP Tour. Better luck next time, Rafa!
Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic were voted best doubles team and James Blake is the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year for his many charitable efforts, including fundraising for cancer research (click here).
Click here for more from ATP.
Do you think Mirka bakes cupcakes for Roger to hand out in the locker room, a la Tracy Flick in Election? Does Djokovic’s dad demand a recount? Does Rafa mistake the ballot box for the laundry shoot and stuff his sweaty socks into it? Does anybody actually care about this stuff???
Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
Tags: ATP, Djokovic, Federer, James Blake, Nadal, tennis
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yeah. this is good news for Fed. Go Roger!
I hope this at least lifts Roger’s spirit a little.
Yeah, me too!
I think it will! Everyone loves to be popular!
I’m so happy for him. I honestly thought Rafa was gonna get most popular player. The tennis world can be such a fickle place, so it must mean a great deal to him that he’s still no.1 for so many people. N’awww.
(did you see the message on his webiste?)
Hey Eve! yeah, I was surprised too, thinking Nadal was a shoe-in for sure. I mean, the guy has had a spectacular year (thus the best player award!) So it was nice to see that fans stand by their man. I did see the message on the website, which was really nice – maybe it will give him a little lift.
From a Fed Fan perspective, I’m looking forward to this tournament being over. I don’t know if you read, but Roger’s back is still bothering him (says it’s “only” when he sits and lies down, not on court, but come on, it’s gotta be hurting all the time) Glad he’s skipping Monte Carlo and hoping he finds a way to keep that back healthy. Then we’ll see his serve get back to normal and he’ll start winning those big matches again. . . . . . .
Of course, from a die hard tennis fan’s perspective, I can’t wait to get some matches on my t.v.! Just hoping FSN doesn’t screw me again.
Roger, you are always number one in my book! Congrats to the rest, too. Rafa deserves the “most humble champion” award this year, for sure.
And Uncle Toni as Best Coach, for sure!
Congrats Roger!!!!Yo have proven that you deserved that awards…..You have enjoyed it for almost five years now and rightly so…Im just gonna wait for someone to equal that feat.! because no matter what the vultures are saying about you right now, they cannot erase the fact that you ruled the tennis world for many years and those wannabe’s would have to beat that record first.They still dont have the last laugh as you will probably have in the next years or so….carry on Roger!
Hi Anne! I like your optimism! I really hope Roger does well in Maimi – to keep the vultures away, of course
Plus, I want to post a photo of him holding a trophy again!