(Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images)
For the fifth year in a row, Roger Federer has been awarded the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award in the 2008 ATP World Tour Awards.
Only Edberg himself can match this achievement of winning the award five times in an eight year period.
Additionally, in a poll of fans Roger was named as ATPWorldTour.com's Fans' Favourite for the sixth consecutive year, showing that, despite Nadal's dominance at the top of the world rankings, Federer is still the No.1 player in many peoples' hearts.
Federer received 26.6% of all votes, followed by Rafael Nadal (22.8%), Novak Djokovic (7.8%), and Fernando Gonzalez (6.2%).
After receiving the news, Federer said: "It is great to receive two more awards. It is always important for me to be a good sportsman on the court and give the right example for others to follow and hopefully inspire the next generation.
"It also means the world to me to be the fans’ favorite player for the sixth year in a row. The support I receive from the fans around the world is so motivating and it is humbling to receive this award once again."
As a result of his fantastic year, winning the French Open, Wimbledon, an Olympic gold medal, and achieving the No.1 ranking, Nadal was named Player of the Year for 2008.
Nadal became the first left-hander to finish No. 1 since John McEnroe in 1984. He became the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win French Open and Wimbledon titles in the same year, winning each title against Federer in the finals.
The Spaniard won eight ATP Tour titles in 10 finals, with 82 match wins, most matches played (93) and a 17-6 record against top 10 opponents.
Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonijic were named Doubles Team of the Year.
The pair reached the French Open final and won the Wimbledon doubles title, and became the top team in a dramatic conclusion to the season. The team defeated Bob and Mike Bryan in the Tennis Masters Cup final, in a match that decided which pairing would be crowned ATP World Tour Doubles Team Champions.
Bob and Mike Bryan won the ATPWorldTour.com Doubles Fans' Favourite award.
James Blake was named the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year for his charitable efforts, including initiatives for numerous cancer research charities, for example the Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Research Fund in honour of his father.
Most Improved player was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, now ranked No. 6 in the world rankings.
Kei Nishikori was given the Newcomer of the Year Award. His win in Delay Beach, which included beating four Americans in a row (Amer Delic, Bobby Reynolds, Sam Querrey, and James Blake), and becoming the youngest ATP tour winner at 18 years and one month was a notable highlight of his 2008 season. He moved from No. 281 to No. 63 in 2008.
Comeback Player of the Year Award was given to Rainer Schuettler, who achieved a semifinal position at Wimbledon in 2008.
Alan Trengove, a Melbourne-based journalist, won the Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award. He has covered tennis for more than 50 years and has long been regarded as one of the world’s leading tennis writers.
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