USA TODAY SPORTS AND TENNIS CHANNEL REVEAL NOVAK DJOKOVIC AS “PLAYER OF THE YEAR”

Written by: Staff on 10th December 2015

USA TODAY SPORTS AND TENNIS CHANNEL REVEAL NOVAK DJOKOVIC AS "PLAYER OF THE YEAR"

epa05033291 Serbia's Novak Djokovic in action against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during the ATP Tour tennis finals tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 19 November 2015. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

USA TODAY SPORTS AND TENNIS CHANNEL REVEAL NOVAK DJOKOVIC AS “PLAYER OF THE YEAR”

US Open Semifinal between Roberta Vinci and Serena Williams

Named “Match of the Year”

Hall of Famers and Tennis Channel Analysts Tracy Austin and Jim Courier, along with USA TODAY Sports Tennis Contributor Nick McCarvel, Make up Judging Panel

Tennis Channel and USA TODAY Sports partnered this year to determine the best player and match of the 2015 season, which were revealed on last night’s premiere broadcast of the new special Year in Review on Tennis Channel. Novak Djokovic was crowned “Player of the Year” and Serena Williams’ shocking US Open semifinal upset loss against Roberta Vinci earned the title of “Match of the Year.”

The judging committee included experts from both USA TODAY Sports and Tennis Channel: Nick McCarvel for the paper and Hall of Famers Tracy Austin and Jim Courier for Tennis Channel. The judges were tasked with coming up with their top three players and matches from 2015 before deciding winners in both categories.

“Wire-to-wire brilliance, with titles on all surfaces at the highest levels,” said Austin, former US Open Champion, about Djokovic and his dominant 2015.

Roberta Vinci’s thrilling victory over Williams, which ended the superstar’s chance at a calendar Grand Slam, at the US Open semifinals was named “Match of the Year.” “Just two matches shy of a Grand Slam, Serena loses to a player who had never taken a set from her and was ranked outside of the top 30,” said Courier. “This match will go down as one of the great upsets in tennis’ history.”

The thrilling French Open final upset win for Stan Wawrinka over Djokovic was another match in the discussion for “Match of the Year.” “After Novak defeated [Rafael Nadal] en route to the final it was assumed he would take the title but Wawrinka overpowered him in a stunning upset,” said Courier.

World No. 1 Serena Williams was also a strong contender for “Player of the Year” amongst the judges.

In honor of the year’s best players and performances, Tennis Channel is showing multiple encore presentations of Year in Review throughout the holiday season. The network will also air various Djokovic matches during the month as well, including all three Grand Slam final victories on Christmas Day, beginning with his US Open Final win against Roger Federer at 9:30 a.m. ET, on Dec. 25. For more information on Tennis Channel’s December programming, please visit www.tennischannel.com/schedule.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic returns the ball to Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci during their round 2 match at the BNP Paribas 2015 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 03 November 2015. EPA/IAN LANGSDON

Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return to Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain during their match on the seventh day of the 2015 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 06 September 2015. The US Open runs through 13 September, which is a return to a 14-day schedule. EPA/JASON SZENES

Topics: Novak Djokovic, Player of the Year, Sports, Tennis News, Usa Today

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10sBalls_com says:

December 10, 2015 at 12:04 pm

-@USATodaySports And @TennisChannel Reveal @DjokerNole As “#PlayerOfTheYear”
https://t.co/knTR1Jt7Br #Djokovic #Tennis #idemo #SerbianTennis