Rafa & Roger win ATP Awards

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who share arguably the greatest rivalry in tennis history, waged a fierce battle in the 2010 ATP World Tour Awards, sharing honours in two awards they hotly contested. The awards were announced today in London, one day ahead of the start of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Nadal, who had already locked up the ATP World Tour No. 1 award after an incredible season in which he won three Grand Slam titles, beat out Federer for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship award, as voted by his fellow players. Federer had won the award the past six years.
But Federer edged Nadal in a fans-voted category which he has always held in high esteem, the ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favourite presented by RICOH (Singles). The Swiss won the award for a record eighth consecutive year, but it was not without a fight. Federer emerged a winner with 47 per cent of the vote ahead of Nadal, who attracted 42 per cent of votes.

American twins and defending Barclays ATP World Tour Doubles Champions, Bob and Mike Bryan, who were honoured for finishing ATP World Tour No. 1 Doubles Team for a record sixth time in eight years, also again won the ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favourite Doubles Team for the sixth straight year with 44 per cent of votes. Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic attracted 14 per cent of votes, with Rohan Bopanna of India and Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan third with 12 per cent.

The Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award went to Bopanna and Qureshi. The “Indo-Pak Express” are seeking to build a bridge of friendship between their respective countries with their motto ‘Stop War, Start Tennis’. Qureshi was recently named a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.