Djokovic: ‘Player of the Year’
December 10, 2014
LOS ANGELES — USA TODAY Sports and Tennis Channel partnered to determine the best player and match of the 2014 men’s and women’s seasons. Novak Djokovic was voted “Player of the Year” and his Wimbledon five-set final battle against Roger Federer earned the title “Match of the Year.”
A panel of experts from USA TODAY Sports and Tennis Channel formed the committee that decided the winning player and match. The judges on the determining board were Hall of Famers and Tennis Channel analysts Martina Navratilova and Jim Courier, and USA TODAY Sports’ tennis writer Doug Robson. Judges were asked to consider their top three players and matches of 2014 before determining the year’s winners.
“Novak gets the nod for player of the year by winning Wimbledon and then finishing the year No. 1 buoyed by a dominant performance in the fall season,” said Courier, former World No. 1. “He was incredibly consistent, posting a 61-8 record on the year and winning seven titles.”
The Wimbledon final, which was unanimously approved by the judges for “Match of the Year,” was “played at a sky-high level from start to finish,” said Robson. “It saved Djokovic’s season. Had Federer won the final set, he likely would have finished the year at No. 1 instead of the Serb.”
Other players and matches in close contention for the top spot were World No. 1 Serena Williams for “Player of the Year” as well as her battles against World No. 3 Simona Halep in the women’s WTA Finals for “Match of the Year.” “What a turnaround!” said Navratilova, one of the most winningest players in tennis history, in reaction to Williams’ comeback triumph against Halep in the championship match of the WTA Finals.
In honor of the year’s best performances, Tennis Channel is rewinding the triumphs of Djokovic’s season, including his climb to the top at Wimbledon. Tune in to Tennis Channel’s “Serving up the Holidays” programming Dec. 10-12 from 7 a.m.-11 a.m. ET to see the network review the highlights from Wimbledon and 7 a.m. ET on Dec. 25 to take a look back at Djokovic’s championship-earning season. The network has same-day encore presentations of these “Serving up the Holidays” specials beginning at 1 p.m. ET. For more information on Tennis Channel’s Dec. programming, visit tennischannel.com/schedule.