Tennis superstar Roger Federer received double nomination at the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards to be held here on February 27. The nominations for 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards were finalised following a ballot by the world’s sports media.
Federer’s impressive return to form after a knee injury, which saw him win his fifth Australian Open and eighth Wimbledon title, earned him nomination in both the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and Laureus World Comeback of the Year categories. Federer, who is currently a four-time Award winner could become the most decorated Laureus Award winner at the 2018 ceremony in Monaco on February 27.
Real Madrid in reckoning
The football world also features heavily, with Cristiano Ronaldo up for Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, Real Madrid nominated for Laureus World Team of the Year, Kylian Mbappe in contention for Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year and FC Barcelona and Chapecoense nominated for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.
Joining Federer and Ronaldo in the World Sportsman of the Year category is athletics world championships 10,000m gold and 5,000m silver medal-winning athlete Mo Farah, four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, four-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and French and US Open champion Rafael Nadal.
Garbie Muguruza to win?
In the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year category Wimbledon champion Garbie Muguruza and three-time 800m world champion Caster Semenya join an all-American quartet of Australian Open champion Serena Williams, 16-time world athletics championship medalist Allyson Felix, 19-year-old swimming sensation Katie Ledecky, Overall World Cup champion skier Mikaela Shiffrin.
An array of sports compile the six nominees in the Laureus World Team of the Year category; tennis’ France Davis Cup Team, NBA Champions Golden State Warriors, Formula One World Champions Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Super Bowl champions New England Patriots, sailing’s New Zealand America’s Cup Team, and Champions League winners Real Madrid.
After a stellar year in the ring in which he unified the WBA, IBO and IBF heavyweight titles, boxer Anthony Joshua has been nominated in the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year category.
Breakthrough talent?
Nominated alongside Joshua are French football star Kylian Mbappe, French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia, Greek basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo and American swimming star Caeleb Dressel.
Following their remarkable Champions League 6-1 comeback win against Paris St Germain, FC Barcelona are in contention for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year category.
After impressive returns to form after their respective injuries, Federer, Italian MotoGP star Valentino Rossi and 100m hurdle world champion Sally Pearson are also in consideration alongside 100m sprint world champion Justin Gatlin and Brazilian football club Chapecoense, who made a remarkable return to competition after being involved in a tragic plane crash.