Federer in contention for record fifth Laureus award
Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael Nadal are among the men able to deny Roger Federer a record fifth Laureus award as sportsman of the year.
Published : Feb 26, 2018 19:22 IST
Yet another record could fall to Roger Federer's renaissance this week in Monaco, where the evergreen Swiss can claim a record fifth Laureus award as Sportsman of the Year.
Federer is tied with fellow four-time winner Usain Bolt, who claimed the individual accolade last year following his successful farewell to Olympic competition in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Federer's rival Novak Djokovic is a three-time winner, while Rafael Nadal has received the award once and is in contention this year after victories at the French Open and US Open in 2017.
They will be up against British trio Mo Farah, Chris Froome and Lewis Hamilton, as well as Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ahead of this week's event, we look at the previous achievements that earned Federer Laureus recognition during his extraordinary, glittering career.
2005
After breaking through to claim his first grand slam title at Wimbledon in 2003, Federer reached new heights in 2004, winning the Australian Open and US Open for the first time either side of retaining his crown at the All England Club, picking up his first Laureus award as a consequence early the next year.
2006
Having reached world number one for the first time in 2004, Federer preserved that status through 2005, beating Andy Roddick again to retain Wimbledon and overcoming Andre Agassi in the US Open decider, in what was the American great's final grand slam final appearance.
2007
Another dominant season in 2006 delivered the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open, and only a burgeoning rivalry with Nadal, the emerging King of Clay, denied Federer the French Open. He also won the first of eight titles at his home event, the Swiss Indoors Basel.
2008
Federer reached the height of his early career dominance in 2007, winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open yet again, beating an rising Novak Djokovic in the decider of the latter event at Flushing Meadows. Nadal again triumphed at Roland Garros before succumbing to Federer in a Wimbledon thriller, the Swiss ending the calendar year as world number one for the fourth year in succession
2018?
The 2017 campaign marked a remarkable resurgence from Federer, who recovered from knee surgery to win the Australian Open and Wimbledon. At the age of 36, he capped his stunning rise by retaining the Australian Open last month and then returned to world number one for the first time since 2012.