Nadal, Federer Share Honors As 2010 ATP World Tour Awards Announced

Written by: Staff on 20th November 2010

Nadal, Federer Share Honors As 2010 ATP World Tour Awards Announced |

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who share arguably the greatest rivalry in tennis history, waged a fierce battle in the 2010 ATP World Tour Awards, sharing honours in two awards they hotly contested. The awards were announced today in London, one day ahead of the start of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Nadal, who had already locked up the ATP World Tour No. 1 award after an incredible season in which he won three Grand Slam titles, beat out Federer for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship award, as voted by his fellow players. Federer had won the award the past six years.

But Federer edged Nadal in a fans-voted category, which he has always held in high esteem, the ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favourite presented by RICOH (Singles). The Swiss won the award for a record eighth consecutive year, but it was not without a fight. Federer emerged a winner with 47 per cent of the vote ahead of Nadal, who attracted 42 per cent of votes.

American twins and defending Barclays ATP World Tour Doubles Champions, Bob and Mike Bryan, who were honoured for finishing ATP World Tour No. 1 Doubles Team for a record sixth time in eight years, also again won the ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favourite Doubles Team for the sixth straight year with 44 per cent of votes. Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic attracted 14 per cent of votes, with Rohan Bopanna of India and Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan third with 12 per cent.

The Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award went to Bopanna and Qureshi. The “Indo-Pak Express” are seeking to build a bridge of friendship between their respective countries with their motto ‘Stop War, Start Tennis’. Qureshi was recently named a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.

Visit the official 2010 ATP World Tour Awards section on ATPWorldTour.com

2010 ATP WORLD TOUR AWARDS

ATP World Tour No. 1 (based on South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings)
Rafael Nadal: The Spaniard won seven titles, including three Grand Slam crowns in a row (Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open). At 24 years, 3 months, he became the youngest man in the Open Era and seventh man overall to complete a career Grand Slam with his first title in Flushing Meadows. He also became the first player to win three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay court titles (Monte-Carlo, Rome, Madrid) in the same season. He is the all-time leader with 18 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles. He compiled a 67-9 match record, his fourth straight season with at least 65 match wins.

ATP World Tour No. 1 Doubles Team (based on year-end 2010 ATP Doubles Team Rankings)
Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan: The American twins finished as ATP World Tour Doubles No. 1 for a record sixth time in eight years (2003, ’05-07, ’09-10), compiling an 11-0 finals record. Their titles included the Australian Open, US Open and four ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles (Rome, Madrid, Toronto, Cincinnati). They have won at least five titles in nine straight seasons. The Bryans broke Aussie Hall of Famers Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde’s team record of 61 titles by winning in Los Angeles on Aug. 1. They have a career record of 67-38 in finals.

Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award (voted by ATP players)
Rafael Nadal: Fellow players voted the Mallorca resident as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the first time, breaking Roger Federer’s mark of six in a row.

Most Improved Player of the Year (voted by ATP World Tour players)
Andrey Golubev: The 23-year-old from Kazakhstan climbed from No. 133 in 2009 to a career-high No. 33 on Oct. 4, highlighted by a personal-high 24 match wins. He captured his first career ATP World Tour title in Hamburg without dropping a set. He defeated World No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko for his first Top 10 win along the way before beating Austrian Jurgen Melzer in the final. He also advanced to the final in Kuala Lumpur in October (l. to Youzhny), defeating No. 5 Robin Soderling and then No. 11 David Ferrer en route.

Newcomer of the Year (voted by ATP World Tour players)
Tobias Kamke: The 24-year-old German made one of the biggest ranking jumps into the Top 75, from No. 254 in 2009 to No. 67. He compiled an outstanding 35-16 Challenger record and two titles. He turned in a Grand Slam-best third round showing at Wimbledon and overall won seven matches on the ATP World Tour. Prior to 2010 he never won a main draw match on tour. He is the third German to earn this award since 2004.

Comeback Player of the Year (voted by ATP World Tour players)
Robin Haase: The 23-year-old Dutchman made a ranking jump of 392 positions from 2009, climbing from No. 451 to a season-best No. 59. He won nine ATP World Tour level matches, highlighted by a quarter-final showing in Basel. He also was 32-8 in Challenger level play with five titles. He underwent right knee surgery in July 2008 and again in May 2009.

Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year
Rohan Bopanna and Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi: The “Indo-Pak Express” are goodwill ambassadors on and off the court. They are seeking to build a bridge of friendship between their respective countries with their motto ‘Stop War, Start Tennis’. Qureshi was recently named a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.

ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favourite presented by RICOH (Singles)
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 presented by RICOH for a record eighth consecutive year. Federer received 47 per cent of all votes, followed by Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favourite (Doubles)
Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan: Twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan were voted the most popular doubles team on the ATP World Tour for the sixth straight year. The Bryans received 44 per cent of votes to finish ahead of Nestor-Zimonjic and Bopanna-Qureshi.

Topics: Aisam Ul Haq, Aisam Ul Haq Qureshi, Arthur Ashe, Atp Rankings, Atp World Tour, Bob And Mike, Bob And Mike Bryan, Daniel Nestor, Doubles Team, Eighth Consecutive Year, Goodwill Ambassador, Nenad Zimonjic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Rohan Bopanna, South African Airways, Sportsmanship Award, Stefan Edberg, Tennis History, War Start