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Roger Federer was formally recognized for his triumphant return to the top spot in men’s tennis on Wednesday, as the 2009 ATP World Tour Awards were announced.
The 28-year-old superstar collected Player of the Year, the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award and ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favorite Player of the Year presented by RICOH honors. Federer was named Player of the Year for the fifth time after finishing as ATP World Tour Champion and his fellow players voted him with the sportsmanship award for a record sixth consecutive year, surpassing Edberg, who was a five-time recipient over eight years. In a poll of fans, Federer was voted ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favorite for the seventh straight season.
ATP World Tour Doubles Champions Bob and Mike Bryan were announced as the Doubles Team of the Year for the fifth time in seven years.
Former ATP World Tour pro MaliVai Washington, a winner of four career ATP World Tour titles and a finalist at Wimbledon, won the prestigious Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award for his charitable efforts.
The full list of 2009 ATP World Tour Awards winners:
Player Of The Year
Roger Federer: The Swiss native finished as ATP World Tour Champion for the fifth time in six years, highlighted by Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He became the sixth man in the history of the sport to win all four Grand Slam titles during his career and the all-time leader with the most Grand Slam singles titles. He won his 15th Slam crown at Wimbledon, surpassing Pete Sampras, and last month added his 16th title at the Australian Open. He became the second player in the history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings (since 1973) to finish No. 1 after losing it for a season. Ivan Lendl accomplished the feat in 1989.
ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favourite Presented By RICOH
Roger Federer: The Swiss, who is admired for his work on and off the court, continues to be a fan favourite by millions of fans around the world, who have voted him as ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favourite for a record seventh consecutive year. Federer received 52% percent of all votes, followed by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Doubles Team Of The Year
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan: The American twins finished as ATP World Tour Champions for the fifth time in seven years (2003, '05-07, '09), capturing seven titles, including at the Australian Open and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. They have won at least five titles in eight straight seasons. They compiled a 68-18 match record and lifetime they are 57-38 together in finals. They are four titles away from tying Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde's record of 61 team titles.
ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favourite Doubles Team
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan: Twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan were voted the most popular doubles team on the ATP World Tour for the fifth straight year. The Bryans received 50% percent of votes to finish ahead of Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic and Lukas Dlouhy & Leander Paes.
Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Of The Year
MaliVai Washington: The former Wimbledon finalist has devoted himself to helping thousands of underprivileged Jacksonville children since 1994, when he established the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation to promote academic achievement and positive life skills. Currently supporting around 150 children, the flagship Tennis-n-Tutoring program is an after-school youth development program that offers free homework assistance, tennis lessons and life skills classes.
The mission of the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation is to develop champions in classrooms, on tennis courts and throughout communities. MWKF recently opened the MaliVai Washington Youth Center at Emmett Reed Park, a $3 million facility complete with eight tennis courts, three mini courts, a basketball court, library, classrooms, teen room, multi-media center, fitness room, kitchen and administrative offices.
Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
Roger Federer: Fellow players voted the five-time ATP World Tour Champion as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a record sixth consecutive year. Edberg is the only other player to earn the award five times (over an eight-year span).
Most Improved Player Of The Year
John Isner: The 24-year-old American climbed from No. 145 in 2008 to a year-end best No. 34 last season, highlighted by a personal-high 27 match wins. He improved his match wins total by 16 from the previous year. He advanced to the semi-finals at Indianapolis and Washington and the quarter-finals in Auckland, Houston, Los Angeles and Bangkok. In Grand Slam play, he advanced to the fourth round at the US Open, highlighted by a five-set win over No. 5 Andy Roddick in the third round. In that match, he fired 38 aces. He also went 3-3 vs. Top 10 opponents.
Newcomer Of The Year
Horacio Zeballos: The 24-year-old Argentine finished as his country's No. 3 player (behind No. 5 del Potro, No. 30 Monaco) and made one of the biggest ranking jumps into the Top 50, from No. 209 in 2008 to No. 45 last year. He compiled an outstanding 48-14Challenger record before later in the year reaching his first ATP World Tour final in St. Petersburg (l. to Stakhovsky). Prior to 2009 he never played in an ATP World Tour main draw.
Comeback Player of the Year
Marco Chiudinelli: The 28-year-old Swiss native made a ranking jump of 723 positions from 2008, climbing from No. 779 to a year-end best No. 56 last season. He won 10 ATP World Tour level matches, highlighted by his first ATP World Tour semi-final in Basel. He also reached the quarter-finals in Bangkok and won his first ATP World Tour doubles title in Gstaad (w/Lammer). In his third career Grand Slam tournament, he reached the third round at the US Open. He was sidelined for eight months in 2008 after undergoing left knee surgery on Nov. 14, 2007.
Tournament of the Year - ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 presented by Rolex (Shanghai): The newest ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament on the calendar, held at the Qizhong Tennis Center, was a popular event.
Tournament of the Year - ATP World Tour 500
Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships (Dubai): The tournament was recognized for the sixth time in seven years as the players’ favourite ATP World Tour 500 event.
Tournament of the Year - ATP World Tour 250
SkiStar Swedish Open (Bastad): The popular clay court tournament in July was voted the top ATP World Tour 250 event for the eighth straight year.
Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award
Vincenzo Martucci, La Gazzetta dello Sport (Italy): Martucci, who has reported on tennis since 1978, has been the tennis correspondent of La Gazzetta dello Sport in Milan since 1985. He also covers golf and Olympic sports for his paper and weekly magazine Sport Week.
Roger Federer was formally recognized for his triumphant return to the top spot in men’s tennis on Wednesday, as the 2009 ATP World Tour Awards were announced.
The 28-year-old superstar collected Player of the Year, the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award and ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favorite Player of the Year presented by RICOH honors. Federer was named Player of the Year for the fifth time after finishing as ATP World Tour Champion and his fellow players voted him with the sportsmanship award for a record sixth consecutive year, surpassing Edberg, who was a five-time recipient over eight years. In a poll of fans, Federer was voted ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favorite for the seventh straight season.
ATP World Tour Doubles Champions Bob and Mike Bryan were announced as the Doubles Team of the Year for the fifth time in seven years.
Former ATP World Tour pro MaliVai Washington, a winner of four career ATP World Tour titles and a finalist at Wimbledon, won the prestigious Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award for his charitable efforts.
The full list of 2009 ATP World Tour Awards winners:
Player Of The Year
Roger Federer: The Swiss native finished as ATP World Tour Champion for the fifth time in six years, highlighted by Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He became the sixth man in the history of the sport to win all four Grand Slam titles during his career and the all-time leader with the most Grand Slam singles titles. He won his 15th Slam crown at Wimbledon, surpassing Pete Sampras, and last month added his 16th title at the Australian Open. He became the second player in the history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings (since 1973) to finish No. 1 after losing it for a season. Ivan Lendl accomplished the feat in 1989.
ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favourite Presented By RICOH
Roger Federer: The Swiss, who is admired for his work on and off the court, continues to be a fan favourite by millions of fans around the world, who have voted him as ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favourite for a record seventh consecutive year. Federer received 52% percent of all votes, followed by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Doubles Team Of The Year
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan: The American twins finished as ATP World Tour Champions for the fifth time in seven years (2003, '05-07, '09), capturing seven titles, including at the Australian Open and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. They have won at least five titles in eight straight seasons. They compiled a 68-18 match record and lifetime they are 57-38 together in finals. They are four titles away from tying Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde's record of 61 team titles.
ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favourite Doubles Team
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan: Twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan were voted the most popular doubles team on the ATP World Tour for the fifth straight year. The Bryans received 50% percent of votes to finish ahead of Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic and Lukas Dlouhy & Leander Paes.
Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Of The Year
MaliVai Washington: The former Wimbledon finalist has devoted himself to helping thousands of underprivileged Jacksonville children since 1994, when he established the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation to promote academic achievement and positive life skills. Currently supporting around 150 children, the flagship Tennis-n-Tutoring program is an after-school youth development program that offers free homework assistance, tennis lessons and life skills classes.
The mission of the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation is to develop champions in classrooms, on tennis courts and throughout communities. MWKF recently opened the MaliVai Washington Youth Center at Emmett Reed Park, a $3 million facility complete with eight tennis courts, three mini courts, a basketball court, library, classrooms, teen room, multi-media center, fitness room, kitchen and administrative offices.
Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
Roger Federer: Fellow players voted the five-time ATP World Tour Champion as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a record sixth consecutive year. Edberg is the only other player to earn the award five times (over an eight-year span).
Most Improved Player Of The Year
John Isner: The 24-year-old American climbed from No. 145 in 2008 to a year-end best No. 34 last season, highlighted by a personal-high 27 match wins. He improved his match wins total by 16 from the previous year. He advanced to the semi-finals at Indianapolis and Washington and the quarter-finals in Auckland, Houston, Los Angeles and Bangkok. In Grand Slam play, he advanced to the fourth round at the US Open, highlighted by a five-set win over No. 5 Andy Roddick in the third round. In that match, he fired 38 aces. He also went 3-3 vs. Top 10 opponents.
Newcomer Of The Year
Horacio Zeballos: The 24-year-old Argentine finished as his country's No. 3 player (behind No. 5 del Potro, No. 30 Monaco) and made one of the biggest ranking jumps into the Top 50, from No. 209 in 2008 to No. 45 last year. He compiled an outstanding 48-14Challenger record before later in the year reaching his first ATP World Tour final in St. Petersburg (l. to Stakhovsky). Prior to 2009 he never played in an ATP World Tour main draw.
Comeback Player of the Year
Marco Chiudinelli: The 28-year-old Swiss native made a ranking jump of 723 positions from 2008, climbing from No. 779 to a year-end best No. 56 last season. He won 10 ATP World Tour level matches, highlighted by his first ATP World Tour semi-final in Basel. He also reached the quarter-finals in Bangkok and won his first ATP World Tour doubles title in Gstaad (w/Lammer). In his third career Grand Slam tournament, he reached the third round at the US Open. He was sidelined for eight months in 2008 after undergoing left knee surgery on Nov. 14, 2007.
Tournament of the Year - ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 presented by Rolex (Shanghai): The newest ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament on the calendar, held at the Qizhong Tennis Center, was a popular event.
Tournament of the Year - ATP World Tour 500
Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships (Dubai): The tournament was recognized for the sixth time in seven years as the players’ favourite ATP World Tour 500 event.
Tournament of the Year - ATP World Tour 250
SkiStar Swedish Open (Bastad): The popular clay court tournament in July was voted the top ATP World Tour 250 event for the eighth straight year.
Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award
Vincenzo Martucci, La Gazzetta dello Sport (Italy): Martucci, who has reported on tennis since 1978, has been the tennis correspondent of La Gazzetta dello Sport in Milan since 1985. He also covers golf and Olympic sports for his paper and weekly magazine Sport Week.
