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The nominees for the 2018 ATP World Tour awards presented by Moet & Chandon were declared a week ago. The awards honor the season's best players and tournaments, decided by the players and their ATP rankings. The winners of the 2018 ATP World Tour Awards will be announced ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals in November.
There are several awards presented by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World tour to the players, coaches, and tournaments of the season.
Here is the list of all the awards presented by the ATP World Tour:
1. Player of the Year
This award is awarded to the player who ends the year as world number 1 in the ATP singles rankings. Last year, Rafael Nadal bagged this award as he ended the year as world number 1 in the ATP rankings.
There will be a nail-biting competition between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to win this award. Novak Djokovic will be the favorite to conquer this award as he has been in an incredible form lately, whereas Rafael Nadal is struggling to make a comeback after his injury in the US Open.
It will be hard-bitten for the Spaniard to come back and win tournaments with only 3 tournaments left for the season, that is the ATP 500 Basel, ATP 1000 Masters Paris, and the Nitto ATP Finals. The Serbian is just 215 points behind the world number 1 Rafael Nadal in ATP rankings and will be the favorite to win the Nitto ATP Finals.
2..Comeback Player of the Year
The Comeback Player of the Year is accorded to that player who has overcome a critical injury in restoring his form and came back as one of the top players in the ATP tour.
The nominees of 2018 comeback player of the year are - Novak Djokovic, Jason Kubler, John Millman, Kei Nishikori.
It will be a tough fight between Jason Kubler and Novak Djokovic to win the Comeback Player of the Year award. Djokovic has a slight edge on Jason Kubler as he had been out of the season for almost a year. Djokovic was also out of the top 10 when he started this season but he made a statement after winning 2 back to back Grand Slams; the Wimbledon and the US Open. He also returned to the world number 2 in ATP world rankings.
Kubler, on the other hand, was ranked 945 in the world 14 months ago. The Australian had gone through several surgeries in his career. He was unsure if he would continue to play tennis or not but is now enjoying a career-high ranking of world number 91.
John Millman was happy to be nominated for this award for the second time but feels that Jason Kubler is the most deserving player for the award as he said for the fellow compatriot, "consecutive surgeries, never been inside 100 before, told he couldn't play on hardcourt anymore, started with no ranking, no money in the bank when making that comeback, literally starting from scratch. You're telling me someone is more deserving than Jason Kubler."
3. Most Improved Player of the Year
The player who has significantly improved his performance throughout the year and has a better year-end ATP ranking than the previous years' is presented by this award.
The nominees for most improved player of the year are - Marco Cecchinato, Alex de Minaur, Kyle Edmund, Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is the most deserving player for this award as he has improved drastically going from world number 91 to the world number 15. He has been consistently getting into the main draws and steadily climbing the charts. His best performance was in the Rogers Cup where he was the runner-up, losing against Rafael Nadal in the finals.
4. Newcomer of the Year
This award is given to the NextGen players who entered the top 100 in ATP rankings for the first time in their career. The NextGen payer who throughout the year has impacted the most and promoted the sport is chosen for this award.
The nominees for 2018 newcomer of the year by the ATP World Tour awards are - Alex de Minaur, Ugo Humber, Hubert Hurkacz, Michael Mmoh, Jaume Munar.
Alex de Minaur is currently the second youngest player in the top 100 and is currently at a career-high ranking of number 31. He has been playing both doubles and singles but has impressed everyone with his performance in singles events. The 17-year-old reached the 3rd round in the US Open and the Wimbledon this year, which is his best performance in the Grand Slams. He certainly has a long way to go and was one of the most emerging players on the tour for this season.
5. Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
The player who has shown some integrity and professionalism throughout this season and has been fair, generous and polite while competing with other players are awarded the Sportsmanship Award.
The nominees of this award are - Kevin Anderson, Juan Martin del Potro, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal.
Rafael Nadal has always shown sportsmanship spirit on court and off the court and is always one of the contenders for this award. The world number 1 always praises his oppnent whether he win or lose. He has consistently played the game fairly with an irreproachable sporting spirit.
6. Tournament of the Year
This award is granted to the tournament that in its category has operated at the highest level of rectitude, unification, and civility with providing the best conditions and atmosphere to the participating players.
The categories of tournaments are - ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500, ATP World Tour 250.
The Indian Wells will be looking forward to being honored with this award for the 5th time in a row
7. ATP Coach of the Year
This award is nominated and voted by the ATP coach members. This award is awarded to that coach who has helped and guided a player to perform at the highest level throughout the year.
8. Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award
This award is given to a person who has made incredible humanitarian contributions. ATP chooses the person to be awarded by the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award.
9. Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award
This award is given to the journalist who has made a significant contribution to the game of tennis and has promoted the game fairly.
10. Fans' Favourite Player & Team Award
The fans select their favorite player and the team of the season by casting a vote. The voting lines for the 2018 fans favorite Awards presented by Moet & Chandon are open and will be closed at 11.59pm GMT on Friday, 2nd November.
Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer are always the favorites to win the fans favorite player award as the three has the highest number of fans all over the world.
In doubles, the Bryan brothers are always the most favored team by the fans.
You can cast your vote from ATP World Tour home or from the link here.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
