Federer, Serena win top honours at Laureus awards

Tennis stars Roger Federer and Serena Williams won both the Laureus sportsman and woman of the year award.

Published : Feb 28, 2018 01:49 IST

Federer with his six Laureus awards. His first win was in 2005.
Federer with his six Laureus awards. His first win was in 2005.
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Federer with his six Laureus awards. His first win was in 2005.

 

Roger Federer and Serena Williams won the top honours at the 2018 Laureus sports awards held in Monaco on Tuesday.

Federer, the newly ranked world No. 1, won the sportsman of the year award for his achievements in 2017. Returning from injury in 2017, he won the Australian Open for a fifth time and Wimbledon for an eighth time without dropping a set. This was Federer's fifth award since the inception of the honours in 2000 and his first since 2008.

Read: Francesco Totti's career recognised with Laureus award

The other nominees on the list were Rafael Nadal, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mo Farah, Lewis Hamilton and Chris Froome.

Federer said, "This is a very special moment for me. Everyone knows how highly I value my Laureus Awards, so to win another would have been wonderful, but to win two is a truly unique honour. And so unexpected. I am delighted and I would like to thank the Laureus Academy for all their support. It was an unforgettable year for me, to come back after a very difficult 2016, and these Awards just make it even more memorable. When I won my first Laureus Award back in 2005, if you had said I would have ended up winning six I would not have believed you. It’s been an amazing ride."

 

 

The 36-year-old also won the comeback of the year award for his incredible turnaround in 2017 having missed the second part of 2016 due to injury.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams won the sportswoman of the year award ahead of Garbine Muguruza, Allyson Felix, Katie Ledecky, Caster Semenya and Mikaela Shiffrin. This was her fourth win at the Laureus having previously claimed the award in 2003, 2010 and 2016.

Williams won the Australian Open in the beginning of 2017 for a seventh time, an open era record. However, after returning to No. 1 position in world ranking, she missed the rest of the season through pregnancy.

 

F1 team Mercedes-AMG won the team of the year award beating the likes of Real Madrid, Golden State Warriors, and France's Davis Cup team. Mercedes won the constructors' championship and its driver Lewis Hamilton won the Drivers' championship in 2017.

The breakthrough of the year went to Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia, who won the US Masters in 2017.

The sporting inspiration of the year award went to Houstan Texas' NFL player J. J. Watt.

The Laureus best sporting moment of the year award went to the tragedy stricken 'Eternal Champions' Chapecoense Football Club.

Wheelchair racer Marcel Hug was awarded with the world sportsperson of the year with a disability.

Edwin Moses won the lifetime achievement award on the night.

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