Federer wins ATP awards for player of the year, sportsmanship and fan favorite Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Roger Federer was a winner in more ways than one last year.
The world's No. 1 player was honored Tuesday as the ATP Tour's player of the year for 2007. He also won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the fourth consecutive year and the Fans' Favorite Award for the fifth consecutive time.
"The sportmanship award is voted by my fellow players and it is a great recognition for me," Federer said in a statement. "It is equally important to be voted by the fans as their favorite player. 2007 was a fantastic year for me."
Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States won the Doubles Team of the Year and Fans' Favorite awards, each for the third straight year. The brothers won 11 titles in 2007.
"It was a very special year," Mike Bryan said. "Being voted fan favorite is also very important to us. Wherever we go the fans support us and make us feel really great."
Novak Djokovic, who'll defend his title at the Sony Ericsson Open which starts Wednesday in South Florida, won the most improved player award for the second straight year.
Other top award winners included: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, newcomer of the year; Igor Andreev, comeback player of the year; and Ivan Ljubicic, Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year.
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posted by Brandon Schenz @ 7:10 AM,
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Federer hopes to shake slow start to year
The best player in tennis has been awfully average this year.
Roger Federer is off to his worst start since 2000, when he was 18 and still three years from his first Grand Slam title. In three tournaments he has yet to reach a final, and he has lost three of his past six matches.
Not that anyone will be eager to face Federer at the Sony Ericsson Open, which begins Wednesday. He's a two-time champion and top-seeded, and he's sure to be highly motivated to jump-start his season.
But for the moment, the debate about whether Federer is the best player ever has given way to another question: Is his game in decline?
Health has been a factor. A stomach virus curtailed his preparation for the Australian Open, and he lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. Last month Federer was diagnosed with mononucleosis, and when he returned three weeks ago, he lost to Andy Murray in the opening round at Dubai.
But even after Federer pronounced himself fit at Indian Wells, his backhand lacked its usual snap, and his lethal forehand was too often wayward. He lost in the semifinals to No. 98-ranked Mardy Fish.
Is this a slump? A slip? A bump? A blip?
Fish says top players don't see Federer as more vulnerable than before.
"In the locker room, we just kind of laugh at it," Fish says. "We just kind of think it's kind of a joke - you know: 'Oh, my gosh, Roger hasn't won a tournament yet this year.' ... I think he's going to continue to be No. 1 for a long time."
Federer's domination has been such that he'll remain atop the rankings even if he loses his opening match at Key Biscayne. He has a first-round bye, then will play Saturday against the winner of the match between Gael Monfils and American John Isner.
Before losing to Fish, Federer had won 41 consecutive matches against Americans since 2003. Fish was the lowest-ranked player to beat Federer in nearly three years.
But Federer said the upset was merely a case of confronting a hot player who hardly missed a shot.
"I'm surprised myself it hasn't happened more in the last five years," Federer said. "That's why I'm maybe not that disappointed."
Still, this is the deepest Federer has gone into a year without winning a title since 2000. Since seizing the No. 1 ranking four years ago, this is the first time he has failed to reach a final in three consecutive tournaments.
Federer, who parted with coach Tony Roche nearly a year ago, said his game doesn't need major changes. After all, he's only two Grand Slam titles shy of tying Pete Sampras' record of 14. Last year Federer won three of the four major events, including the U.S. Open in September.
At 26, still in his prime, Federer figures all his game needs are a few tweaks.
"I think I have really a lot of potential toward playing more aggressive," he said. "The rest is sort of trying to maintain good fitness and good defensive skill. My offensive skills will always be very good. I just having to continue improving little things.
"I think it's about details at this stage of my career. I'm not going to become a different player. I don't want to."
Among the top men and women, only Maria Sharapova will be absent at Key Biscayne. Justine Henin is seeded No. 1 on the women's side and is in the same half of the draw as Serena and Venus Williams. Serena beat Henin in last year's final.
Three-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal is seeded No. 2 in the men's draw, and defending champion Djokovic is third.
Djokovic, who won his first major title this year, is one reason the gap between Federer and other top players seems to be shrinking.
"There is more variety of players at the top, which is an encouraging thing for this sport," Djokovic said. "Obviously a lot of people got a little bit bored, Federer and Nadal winning and being so dominant. It's always good to see some new faces winning major events. I think the people like it."
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posted by Brandon Schenz @ 7:08 AM,
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Djokovic, Ivanovic win Indian Wells titles Monday, March 24, 2008
Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic have given their home country reason to be proud.
The 20-year-old Serbs who practiced together as children won his and her titles in the Pacific Life Open on Sunday. Djokovic ended American Mardy Fish's string of upsets with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory, and Ivanovic downed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-3.
There has been civil strife in Kosovo since it declared its independence from Serbia last month, but both Djokovic and Ivanovic said they do not want to discuss politics.
Serbian swimmer Milorad Cavic was suspended from the European swimming championships Friday for wearing a T-shirt proclaiming "Kosovo is Serbia" at a medal ceremony.
"I'm really sad to hear about this," Ivanovic said. "But on the other hand, I don't know much about politics and I don't get involved in that area. When I'm out here playing, I just want to represent my country in the best possible way.
"They (Serbs) really love tennis right now. It's a cool thing to wake up (in the middle of the night) and watch us play," she said, alluding to the time difference. "They're proud to be Serbians, like I think everyone is in their own country."
Djokovic, whose father and other relatives are natives of Kosovo, recently taped a video saying he believes Kosovo will always be a part of Serbia.
"It kind of touched me in that moment that this was my quest to give support to my country," he said.
Otherwise, he said, he simply considers himself an athlete representing his country.
"I think professional athletes all over the world ... are one of the biggest ambassadors of their country; considering the fact that our country is in a very difficult position, they're struggling in economics and politics, as well," he said.
"But this is something I don't want to get involved in."
Djokovic and Ivanovic figure to represent their country well in tennis, since they both already have accomplished a great deal and seem to be getting even better. He's No. 3 behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who both lost at Indian Wells. Only Justine Henin, who skipped the tournament, is ranked above No. 2 Ivanovic.
The Serbian stars just missed a sweep in the Australian Open. Djokovic beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the men's title, and Ivanovic lost to Maria Sharapova in their final.
Both Djokovic and Ivanovic won their championship matches at Indian Wells mostly by powering shots down the lines, although Djokovic obviously had a tougher time with No. 98 Fish.
Djokovic, who lost to Nadal in the final last year, knocked off Nadal in the semifinals this time.
Despite the loss, Fish had a remarkable run at Indian Wells. He had never beaten two top-10 players in a tournament before, but he upset No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 7 David Nalbandian before stunning Federer in the semifinals.
The 26-year-old Fish, who rose to No. 17 four years ago but has been hampered by injuries, will move up to the top 50 in the next rankings.
He built an enthusiastic following along the way at Indian Wells, with fans chanting "Mardy! Mardy!" during the final, and one waving a sign reading, "Go Fish."
He said his success in the tournament took a while to sink in.
"I just didn't realize what had happened," he said. "To get a few wins against players like that and to play a match like today, to be in there. A lot of great players to go through, and I was one set away."
Asked if he thought Djokovic could become No. 1, Fish said yes. But as for the top player now, he said, "I think it's Roger Federer, hands down. He's had a few results these past few weeks that are uncharacteristic for him. I think he's going to continue to be No. 1 for a long time."
Djokovic seemed on his way to an easy victory after winning the first set and going up 4-2 in the second. But Fish came back to win five of the next six games and force a third set. Djokovic seemed to slip out of his rhythm during Fish's comeback, twice slamming his racket to the court after missing shots.
But he broke Fish's serve in the second game of the final set, then each held serve the rest of the way. After wrapping it up with a service winner, Djokovic raised his eyes and arms skyward, then shook hands with Fish and hugged him.
In the women's match, Ivanovic used well-placed groundstrokes to keep Kuznetsova scrambling from side to side. She capped her victory with a shot that seemed to typify her play in the final: she whipped a forehand down the line on a service return.
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posted by Brandon Schenz @ 7:07 AM,
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