ATP Hands Out Year-End Honors
Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and the number one duo of Bob & Mike Bryan each take home a pair of honors in the 2012 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moet & Chandon. Djokovic, who receives the ATP World Tour number one award for a second straight year, has also been selected as the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year for his contributions through the Novak Djokovic Foundation, his role as a UNICEF ambassador and other charitable ventures.
Defending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals champion Federer continues his domination in two categories respectively selected by his peers and fans, taking his total to 24 ATP World Tour Awards since 2003. The 31-year-old Swiss collects the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the eighth time, and extends his reign as the ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favorite presented by RICOH to a record 10th straight year.
The Bryans have also been named repeat recipients of two doubles awards: ATP World Tour Number One Doubles Team and ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favorite. The 34-year-old twins have now won each award a record eight times. The trio will be presented with their trophies in on-court ceremonies this week at The O2. The Ron Bookman Media Award and ATP Tournament of the Year Awards will be announced at a later date.
2012 ATP WORLD TOUR AWARDS presented by Moët & Chandon
â–ºATP World Tour Number One (determined by South African Airways ATP Rankings): Novak Djokovic —The 25-year-old Serbian is the first player to clinch the year-end number one South African Airways ATP Ranking in consecutive seasons since Roger Federer achieved four straight world number one finishes from 2004-07. Djokovic successfully defended the Australian Open title and reached the final at six ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, winning titles in Miami, Toronto and Shanghai. He also lifted the Beijing trophy and was a finalist at Roland Garros and the U.S. Open. He comes to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals with a 70-11 match record, the third time in four years he’s reached at least 70 wins.
â–ºATP World Tour Number One Doubles Team (determined by ATP Doubles Team Rankings) Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan—The Americans finish as the top duo in the ATP Doubles Team Rankings for a fourth successive year and record eighth time overall (2003, ’05-07, ’09-12). They captured seven titles–their 11th straight season of winning five or more–highlighted by a record-equalling 12th Grand Slam trophy at the U.S. Open and the Gold Medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The Bryans also won a pair of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in Monte-Carlo and Toronto, and were runners-up at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. They have won the most doubles team titles in the Open Era with 82, and Mike Bryan broke Todd Woodbridge’s individual record when he won his 84th trophy with the twins’ victory in Beijing.
â–ºStefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award (voted by ATP players): Roger Federer—Fellow players voted the Swiss as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the eighth time and second year in a row. He had won the award six straight years from 2004-09 before Rafael Nadal broke the streak in 2011. Marin Cilic, Juan Martin del Potro and David Ferrer were also nominated in this category.
â–ºComeback Player of the Year (voted by ATP players): Tommy Haas—The 34-year-old German rolled back the years as he re-established himself in the Top 25 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, having started the season outside the Top 200. Haas had been sidelined for 14 months between February 2010 and May 2011 following hip surgery, but found top form once again in 2012. The former World No. 2 defeated Roger Federer to win the Halle title, finished runner-up in Hamburg and Washington and recorded his 500th match win with victory in the Vienna second round in October.
â–ºMartin Klizan—The 23-year-old has jumped 88 places in the South African Airways ATP Rankings since the start of the season to hit a career-high World No. 29. The left-hander compiled a 19-15 mark, highlighted by winning his first ATP World Tour title in St. Petersburg with victory over Fabio Fognini. A few weeks earlier, the Bratislava native had knocked out Jo-Wilfried Tsonga en route to a fourth-round showing at the U.S. Open.
â–ºMost Improved Player of the Year (voted by ATP players): Marinko Matosevic—At the age of 27, Marinko Matosevic enjoyed a career-best season that saw him finish 2012 as the number one Australian with a career-high position of world 47th. The right-hander from Melbourne reached his first ATP World Tour final in Delray Beach where, as a qualifier ranked 173rd, he beat four Top 80 players before finishing runner-up to Kevin Anderson. He also reached the semifinals in Los Angeles and compiled a 17-19 match record on the year.
â–ºArthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year: Novak Djokovic—The Serb joined Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Carlos Moya, former South African president Nelson Mandela and Arthur Ashe as winners of the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award, recognised for his contributions through the Novak Djokovic Foundation, his role as a UNICEF ambassador and other individual ventures. His Foundation raised $1.4 million for early childhood education through its inaugural fundraising dinner in New York in September and a week later he visited the “Beneath the Linden Trees” kindergarten, a UNICEF initiative in Lesnica, Serbia, to raise awareness of the importance of early childhood education. In October, Djokovic collaborated with UNIQLO to develop and launch ‘Clothes for Smiles,’ a new program that aims to give children of all ages a chance for a better future. The program has established a $10 million fund that helps nurture the dreams of children worldwide.
â–ºATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favorite (Singles): Roger Federer—The 31-year-old Swiss has been voted ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favorite presented by RICOH for a record 10th straight year, receiving 57 percent of all votes cast. British number one Andy Murray finished second, just ahead of Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
â–ºATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favorite (Doubles) Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan—The Bryan twins received 40 percent of votes to be named the ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favorite for a record eighth time. Michael Llodra & Nenad Zimonjic came in as the second most popular duo for a second straight year, followed closely by Leander Paes & Radek Stepanek.
