Rafael Nadal Named ATP Player of the Year

After a frustrating year of coming up short against Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer again had to settle for second fiddle at this week’s Association of Tennis Professionals Awards.

Federer was awarded the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the fifth straight year (a record), while his on-court nemisis Nadal was named the ATP’s Player of the Year. Nadal enjoyed epic victories over Federer in the Wimbledon and Austalian Open finals.

In other awards handed out at the start of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, the team of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic beat of Bob and Mike Bryan for the Doubles Team of the Year. France’s Jo-Wilfred Tsonga was named the Most Improved Player and Japan’s Kei Nishikori was the Best Newcomer.