Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka Felicitated With Laureus Awards

Published 02/18/2019, 4:40 PM EST

The World Number one tennis players, Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka added another accolade to their incessant record of victories this year. The top echelon of ATP tennis was felicitated with the 2019 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award. The award ceremony was held at Salle des Etoiles in Monaco on Sunday night.

The Serbian, Djokovic had to compete with Kenya’s gold medalist at Rio, Eliud Kipchoge, the French footballer, Kylian Mbappe and the American professional basketball player, LeBron James to receive the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award. The 15-time Grand Slam champion, Djokovic returned on the professional courts in the year 2018 since his elbow surgery in 2017. Post that, the Serb has collected two slams and the Golden Master title in 2018 and the Melbourne major in 2019.

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In the joyousness of receiving this award for the award for the fourth time in his career, the Serbian maestro mentioned, “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, and hearing about the inspirational work Laureus is doing around the world, gives this Award a special meaning for me. Last year was an incredible season for me, returning from injury to win Wimbledon and the US Open is something I’ll remember forever. I am delighted and I would like to thank the Laureus Academy for their support.”

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Japan’s first World Number one of tennis, Naomi Osaka picked up the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award. She pulled off her premiere Grand Slam at the Flushing Meadows in 2018 by blowing out the five-time Laureus Award recipient Serena Williams.

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Besides the tennis adepts, the gymnast, Simone Biles was conferred with the World Sportswoman of the Year Award. She has won four gold, one silver and one bronze medal and her performances at the gymnastics world championships were innovative. The golfing legend, Tiger Woods was conferred with the World Comeback of the Year Award as he won the Tour Championship after returning from the spinal fusion surgery. The FIFA World Cup champions, France received the Laureus World Team of the Year Award and became the first national football team to win the award for the second time.

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Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.