TENNIS NEWS – SERENA WILLIAMS NAMED FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR, NOVAK DJOKOVIC SEVENTH AMONG MEN BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 27th December 2015

TENNIS NEWS - SERENA WILLIAMS NAMED FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR, NOVAK DJOKOVIC SEVENTH AMONG MEN BY RICKY DIMON

epa04913841 Serena Williams of the US serves to Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US during their match on the fifth day of the 2015 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 04 September 2015. The US Open runs through 13 September, which is a return to a 14-day schedule. |

Three major trophies and a chance to win the calendar-year Grand Slam were enough for Serena Williams to snag AP Female Athlete of the Year honors for 2015. Three major trophies but a much earlier loss at the slam level were not enough Novak Djokovicto be the male recipient.

Williams, who came within two matches of the slam before getting upset at the U.S. Open by Roberta Vinci, collected 50 first-place votes and 352 points. Women’s soccer star Carli Lloyd of the USA finished runner-up with 14 first-place votes and 243 points.

“I wanted it,” the world No. 1 said of the calendar-year feat. “But…winning one [major title] is not easy. And then, [when] you have a ‘bounty’ on your head, it’s even harder. If you know anything about me, I hate to lose. I’ve always said I hate losing more than I like winning, so that drives me to be the best that I can be.”

NBA star Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors was named AP Male Athlete of the Year this past Saturday. Djokovic finished seventh, as Triple Crown winner American Pharoah placed second (despite receiving the most first-place votes) and golfer Jordan Spieth–who captured two major titles–was third.

“That’s a real honor,” Curry said. “I’m appreciative of that acknowledgement because it’s across all different sports…. It’s pretty cool.”

The former Davidson College standout led his team to the 2014-15 NBA title and is currently an overwhelming favorite to repeat as league MVP.

On the tennis court, the question is if Djokovic can get any better than he was in 2015. This past season, the top-ranked Serb triumphed at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. Only at the French Open–in the final–did he succumb in surprising fashion to Stan Wawrinka.

Djokovic won every single tournament he entered dating back to the start of the U.S. Open and he capped off his year in style with a triumph at the World Tour Finals in London. He lost to Federer during round-robin action at that event but bounced back to beat the Swiss in the final.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action against Andy Murray of Great Britain during their semi-final match in the Shanghai Tennis Masters at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center in Shanghai, China, 17 October 2015. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA

Topics: 10sballs.com, AP Female Athlete of the Year, Novak Djokovic, Ricky Dimon, Serena Williams, Sports, Tennis News