Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray win big at ATP awards
What's the story?
World No.1 Rafael Nadal won the 2019 Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award of the year for his fair play on the tennis court. The Spaniard has received this award for the third time in his career. Besides Nadal, Scottish star Andy Murray was awarded the 2019 ATP Comeback Player of the Year title for his incredible return to the tennis prominence.
The background
Spain's clay court king, Nadal has not just decimated his opponents on the court this year but he has adhered to all the rules and showed respect to his rivals. The tennis universe bills him as one of the most honest players of the game. On the other side, Andy Murray had almost called a day on his career this January. However, he came back to the court after a second hip surgery and won a singles championship as well as a doubles title.
The heart of the matter
As reported by tennis.com, Rafael Nadal won the Sportsmanship Award for the second consecutive year based on the other players’ voting. Murray won the Comeback Player of the Year while Matteo Berrettini won the award for the Most Improved Tennis Player of the Year. He started the year with a world rank of 54 but now holds the number 8 position.
Gilles Cervara won the Coach of the Year award for playing a commendable role in the rise of Daniil Medvedev and, Kevin Anderson picked up the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award. World No.1 players, Nadal and Ash Barty emerged as the ITF World Champions besides, Jannik Sinner earned the award for the Newcomer of the Year.
What's next?
The tennis universe awaits the next decade as all the stars will gather Down Under to play in the Australian Open 2020.