Federer, Baghdatis and Hingis contenders for a prestigious award

[Applez]

Federer in contention for Laureus award
February 1, 2006

Roger Federer's Australian Open victory has put him in line for his second Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award

The world No.1 won the award last year and after his gritty victory over 20-year-old Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in Melbourne, the Swiss star is favourite to retain the title

Baghdatis, who saw off Andy Roddick, Ivan Ljubicic and David Nalbandian before meeting Federer in his first Grand Slam final, is now a contender for the World Newcomer of the Year award

Federer's compatriot Martina Hingis is in contention for the World Comeback of the Year award following her mixed doubles win with Mahesh Bhupathi in Australia

Winners will be announced at the Laureus Awards ceremony to be staged in Barcelona on May 22

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Sport...r-Laureus-award/2006/02/01/1138590508076.html

 

[Kaptain Karl]

Cool! Thanks for the link, Applez.

- KK

 

[RogerRulez]

Awesome News!

 

[VamosRafa]

Rafa also is in contention for the same World Newcomer award as Marcos, and IMO, he is just as deserving if not more so. But the overall competition is very tough.

http://www.laureus.com/index.php

 

[Applez]

Rafa also is in contention for the same award, and IMO, he is just as deserving if not more so.

http://www.laureus.com/index.php

Of course Rafael Nadal is deserving of the nomination

He's a magnificent player and a great role model

thank you vamos rafa

 

[VamosRafa]

Of course Rafael Nadal is deserving of the nomination

He's a magnificent player and a great role model

thank you vamos rafa

Thanks, Applez. I was surprised the article didn't mention the other nominees. But most of them are not tennis players, so I think it's good for folks to see how much competition Rafa and Marcos have for this award.

 

[Shabazza]

I doubt Baghdatis will win this award, but I hope Hingis will get it the comback of the year one!

 

[pound cat]

Much as I like Baghdatis and think he's a great guy, he is more Newcomer of 2 weeks at the Australian Open than of the world. That he was nominated is an honour in itself.

 

[opiate]

I don't really have a thought about Federer and Hingis, but I agree with some of the posters here about the possibility of Laureus favoring Nadal more over Baghdatis.

In terms of achievement, Nadal is currently better than Baghdatis. Nadal did not only reach the final of the FO but won it on his first try. He beat the world number one on his way to FO crown. He is practically unassailable on clay. And he's the only one who can level Federer in terms of Masters title and overall ATP title. He shot to number 2 from... what ranking was that again?

I am sure Vamos_Rafa could elaborate more on why Nadal should be the better choice than Baghdatis, though.

But one thing is for sure, I really do hope that Baghdatis does not disappoint. I want to seem play well in places other than those with a "home" advantage (I personally believe that the AO is like a Home slam for Baghdatis). We've seen a lot of hype surrounding the "Teen Titans" last year, and so far, at least some/most of them have failed to deliver on the bigger stages.