MIAMI, Florida, March 26 (AP) – (Kyodo)—Japanese prospect Kei Nishikori has been voted newcomer of the year by his fellow players as the ATP World Tour Awards were announced in Miami on Wednesday.
“I am extremely pleased with this award. It is obviously a big honor for me to receive this acknowledgement from my peers,” said Nishikori.
“Every day I work incredibly hard to become one of the top players in the world and to get this recognition from fellow players means a lot to me.”
The popular teenager won his first ATP title and moved up 200 spots in the world rankings to finish as the youngest player in the year-end Top 100. He was also the first Japanese player to finish in the Top 100 since Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995.
Nishikori, who is currently undergoing rehabilitation on a sore right elbow, has dropped to 95th in the rankings from a career-high 56th after losing the points he earned for winning the Delay Beach International Tennis Championships in February last year.
Roger Federer was voted the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a record fifth consecutive year and was also chosen as fans’ favorite for the sixth year in a row.
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal was voted player of the year and Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic won the doubles team of the year award.
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