Novak Djokovic has broken every record and won nearly every accolade in tennis, like no other player before him. However, the one missing award from his illustrious trophy cabinet is the ATP Sportsmanship Award. And this season, the winless streak is set to continue for the Serb as he has failed to make it to the nominations.
It is interesting to note that the ATP Award, which is named after Swedish legend Stefan Edberg, is determined by a select group of journalists and influencers in the International Tennis Writers’ Association (ITWA). Now, Djokovic hasn’t really been a media favorite since the start of his career.
It could be due to his on court behavior on many occasions, his love-hate relations with the media, his passionate views on many issues in the sport and outside of it and other controversies in general. Djokovic also played in the same era as two very popular rivals of his, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
While it’s hard to pinpoint one particular reason, the fact that Djokovic hasn’t won the award even once in his 20-year career so far, remains a shocker. The former World No.1 has some heartwarming moments on and off court.
One such moment was early in the 2024 season itself. The 24-time Grand Slam winner hyped youngster Dino Prizmic after the conclusion of their grueling first-round battle at the Australian Open.
After going through the longest opening-round Grand Slam match of his career, Djokovic stepped away from the limelight. Instead, he requested the enthusiastic crowd at the Rod Laver Arena to applaud for the qualifier.
Djokovic Prizmic#EurosportTENNIS | #AusOpen | #AO2024 | #Djokovic | #Prizmic pic.twitter.com/1fi7hQjYmv
— Eurosport IT (@Eurosport_IT) January 14, 2024
The eventual semi-finalist would further shower the teenager with lofty praise. Djokovic concluded his press conference by giving Prizmic the biggest compliment – seeing a bit of himself in the Croatian’s game.
“I had an amazing opponent tonight. For an 18-year-old, he played so maturely and confidently on the court, fighting through, not giving up even when he was four down in the fourth set. Impressed with his mentality, with his approach, with his game… It felt at some point I was playing myself in a mirror already,” Djokovic spoke about the then-18-year-old.
It is not often that you would see a sporting legend take the attention away from himself and put in on a youngster after defeating him. But as shocking as it may seem, this wasn’t enough for top tennis journalists to nominate him for one of the most important awards of the ATP Awards 2024.
If not Djokovic, then who can win the ATP Sportsmanship Award?
Taking the votes of the media persons at the ITWA, they have voted for Carlos Alcaraz, Grigor Dimitrov, Casper Ruud and Dominic Thiem as the four nominees for the ATP Awards 2024 Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award.
There is not necessarily one particular incident that has got them nominated for it. Their overall on-court demeanor as well as off-court reputation has helped them in this regard.
In 2023, Alcaraz won the award and would look to win it again for a second consecutive year, like his idol Federer did in his heyday. However, smashing his racket on two occasions – the Cincinnati Open and the ATP Finals – could harm his chances to win the trophy for the second straight year.
Should Thiem win it, it would be the perfect ending to his career as he announced his retirement from tennis this season. Dimitrov has been nominated in this category for the second year in a row, perhaps being the likeable senior statesman of the game currently.
While Ruud has often been the understated ‘nice guy’ of tennis, who steers away from controversies and shows his respect for many of his opponents over the years like Nadal, Djokovic and Alcaraz. The award is truly anyone’s to win.
