Djokovic bags top honour at Laureus Awards

Monte Carlo [Monaco], Feb 19 (ANI): World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award on Monday.
The 31-year-old fought off competition from American basketball star LeBron James, Kenyan long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge and French football player Kylian Mbappe to become the Sportsman of the Year.
The Serbian bagged the honour for the fourth time having previously won the award in 2012, 2015 and 2016.
After recovering from a long time injury, Djokovic has had a dream come back to the court. He went to on to clinch the 2018 US Open title and 2019 Australian Open, along with returning to world number one ranking.
“A Laureus Award is what every athlete wants to win, and this one is a huge honour for me. Being among so many sporting greats here tonight… gives this award a special meaning for me,” WTA quoted Djokovic, as saying.
“Last year was an incredible season for me. Returning from injury to win Wimbledon and the US Open is something I’ll remember forever,” he added.
From July 2018 to November 2018, he maintained a 35-3 record and won four titles, including two Grand Slams (Wimbledon, US Open) and two ATP Masters 1000 events (Rolex Shanghai Masters, Western & Southern Open).
Meanwhile, Two times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka was also also honoured at the Laurens Award as she won Breakthrough of the Year Award for her phenomenal run in the 2018 season.
Osaka beat Ana Carrasco (motor cycling), Sofia Goggia (skiing), Jakob Ingebrigtsen (athletics), Geraint Thomas (cycling) and Brianna Williams (athletics) to claim the award.
“I want to give a huge thank you to the Laureus Academy for giving me the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year award. I want to thank my coaching staff and my family for being with me for these entire years,” Osaka said.
“I also want to [acknowledge] the other nominees, and thank the Laureus Academy for nominating me for such a prestigious award,” she added.
While Gymnast Simone Biles won the World Sportwoman of the Year Award, golfer Tiger Woods was presented with Comeback of the Year Award. (ANI)