A Look Back at the Year That Was 2014

February 15, 2015 | By Emilie Katz
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2014 Grand Slam Champions
Australian Open
Men’s Singles: Stanislas Warwinka defeated Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 (winners’ prize money: $2,395,000)
Men's Doubles: Robert Lindstedt & Lukasz Kubot defeated Eric Butorac & Raven Klaasen 6-3, 6-3 (winners’ prize money: $470,000)
Women's Singles: Li Na defeated Dominika Cibulkova 7-6, 6-0 (winners’ prize money: $2,395,000)
Women's Doubles: Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci defeated Elena Makarova & Elena Vesnina 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 (winners prize money $470,000
Mixed-Doubles: Kristina Mladenovic & Daniel Nestor defeated Sania Mirza & Horia Tecau 6-3, 6-2 (winners’ prize money: $135,500)



 

French Open
Men’s Singles: Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 (winners’ prize money: $2,140,000)
Men’s Doubles: Julien Benneteau & Edouard Roger-Vasselin defeated Marcel Granollers & Marc Lopez 6-3, 7-6 (winners’ prize money: $520,000)
Women's Singles: Maria Sharapova defeated Simona Halep 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 (winners’ prize money: $2,140,000)
Woman's Doubles: Su-Wei Hsieh & Shuai Peng defeated Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-1 (winners’ prize money: $520,000)
Mixed-Doubles: Anna-Leon Groenefeld & Jean-Julien Rojer defeated Julia Georges & Nenad Zimonjic 4-6, 6-2, 10-7 (winners’ prize money $548,000)



 

Wimbledon
Men's Singles: Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 (winners’ prize money: $2,860,000)
Men's Doubles: Vasek Pospisil & Jack Sock defeated Bob & Mike Bryan 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 (winners’ prize money: $525,000)
Women's Singles: Petra Kvitova defeated Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0 (winners’ prize money: $2,860,000)
Women's Doubles: Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci defeated Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-3 (winners’ prize money: $525,000)
Mixed-Doubles: Nenad Zimonjic & Sam Stosur defeated Max Mirnyi & Hai-Ching Chan 6-4, 6-2 (winners’ prize money: $163,000)



 

U.S. Open
Men's Singles: Marin Cilic defeated Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 (winners’ prize money: $3,000,000)
Men's Doubles: Mike & Bob Bryan defeated Marcel Granollers & Marc Lopez 6-3, 6-4 (winners’ prize money: $520,000)
Women's Singles: Serena Williams defeated Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3 (winners’ prize money: $3,000,000)
Women's Doubles: Elena Makarova & Elena Vesnina defeated Martina Hingis & Flavia Pennetta 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 (winners’ prize money: $520,000)
Mixed-Doubles: Sania Mirza & Bruno Soares defeated Abigail Spears & Santiago Gonzalez 6-1, 2-6, 11-9 (winners’ prize money: $150,000)



 

ATP Year-End Award Winners
ATP World Tour Number One Player: Novak Djokovic clinched the ATP world number one for a third time, also accomplishing the feat in 2011-2012. Overall in 2014, he won six titles, including Wimbledon and four ATP Tour Masters 1000 crowns.

►ATP World Tour Number One Doubles Team: Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan will finish as the number one duo in the ATP Doubles Team Rankings for a sixth successive year and record 10th time overall. The 36-year-old twins won nine titles in 2014, including the U.S. Open and six ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events.

►ATP Stars of Tomorrow: This award is presented to the youngest player in the Top 100 of the ATP rankings. Borna Coric, who began the season ranked outside the top 300, broke into the top 100 on Oct. 27 and reached a career-high ranking of 92. The 17-year-old Croatian made his Grand Slam debut as a qualifier at the U.S. Open. His biggest victory was a win over Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of a tournament in Switzerland.

►Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award: Fellow players voted Switzerland’s Roger Federer as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the 10th time and fourth year in a row.

►ATP Most Improved Player of the Year: Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut climbed from a year-end ranking of 59 last season to a career high of 14 in 2014. He claimed his first ATP Tour title in June, and finished the season with 45 match wins, 19 more than his previous career-high.

►ATP Comeback Player of the Year: After breaking his left wrist in September 2013, David Goffin returned to the courts at the beginning of 2014 with a ranking of 110th in the world. By the end of June, he only recorded two main draw wins, but after Wimbledon, Goffin couldn't stop winning. He compiled a 44-4 match record from July onwards. He finished the season with a career-high ranking of 22.

►ATP Fan Favorite Singles Player: Roger Federer was voted Fan Favorite for a record 12th straight year.

►ATP Fan Favorite Doubles Team: Bob & Mike Bryan set a record this year with their 10th time winning the award.

►Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award: One of Andy Murray's best friends, former player Ross Hutchins, was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, though thankfully his cancer went into remission. Another of Murray's friends, British tennis player Elena Baltacha, was diagnosed with cancer of the liver and passed away at the age of 30. Wanting to help, Murray took part in fundraising exhibitions for Hutchins and Baltacha at Queens Club and this fall, appeared in a sketch that was a part of Channel 4 in England’s “Stand Up to Cancer” programming. Murray has also raised awareness for UNICEF, United for Wildlife and Malaria No More.

►Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award: San Francisco-based Douglas Robson has been the lead tennis writer for USA Today since 2003. He has been a journalist for two decades, covering a variety of sports, business and general-interest topics.



 

WTA Year-End Award Winners
WTA Fan Favorite Player: Agnieszka Radwanska was voted by the fans as the WTA Fan Favorite Player for the fourth straight year.

►WTA Fan Favorite Doubles Team: The Italian duo of Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci have secured the year-end number one ranking, as well as being voted fan favorites.

►WTA Fan Favorite Tournament: The fans voted for the 2014 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global as their Favorite Tournament of the Year.

►Fan Favorite WTA Match of the Year: Serena Williams vs. Caroline Wozniaki from the 2014 WTA Finals, where Serena regained her composure after smashing her racket and being on the brink of defeat to come back to beat Wozniacki 2-6, 6-3, 7-6.

►WTA Player of the Year: American Serena Williams finished 2014 as the number one ranked player on the WTA Tour. Serena’s 2014 season was highlighted by six singles titles, including one Grand Slam in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. at the 2014 U.S. Open.

►WTA Doubles Team of the Year: Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci finished the year as the top-ranked doubles team for a third consecutive year. They have captured five titles in 2014, including the Australian Open in Melbourne and Wimbledon.

►WTA’s Most Improved Player of the Year: Eugenie Bouchard reached the semifinals at three of the four Grand Slams this year and made it to the finals at Wimbledon. She rose as high as number five in the WTA Women’s Singles Rankings this season, and also qualified for the season-ending WTA Finals.

►WTA Newcomer of the Year: Seventeen-year-old Belinda Bencic, who became the youngest player to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals in 17 years this summer, was awarded the WTA Newcomer of the Year.

►Peachy Kellmeyer Player Service: Lucie Safarova earned this award because of her support for fellow players through initiatives such as the WTA Players Council.

►Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award: Petra Kvitova was voted for this award by her peers on the WTA Tour. She was acknowledged because of her professionalism, attitude and sense of fair play.

►WTA Comeback Player of the Year: Mirjana Lucic-Baroni was a Wimbledon semifinalist at the age of 15, semi-retired in her mid-20s and is now the WTA Comeback Player of the Year at the age of 32. Mirjana's career has come full circle, and her efforts were recognized by winning this award. 




 

Players who retired in 2014
ATP Tour
Thirty-three-year-old Nikolai Davydenko (pictured right) retires as one of the greatest Russian players to play on the ATP tour. Davydenko enjoyed a career-best season in 2009, when he won three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles and triumphed at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. He also reached four Grand Slam semifinals and helped Russia to the 2006 Davis Cup title.

The Australian Paul Hanley (pictured left) won 26 ATP World Tour doubles titles in a 17-year career. The 36-year-old Hanley, who lived in London for 10 years, has returned to Australia to take up a coaching and management role.

Twenty-nine-year-old Ross Hutchins (pictured right), who won five doubles titles and reached 14 ATP Tour finals, has decided to retire after a 13-year career. He was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in December 2012, but returned to competitive tennis in January of 2014 before announcing his retirement from the sport in September.

Israeli doubles specialist Andy Ram (pictured left)retired at the age of 34. He had a great career, winning two Grand Slam mixed-doubles titles and one men's doubles crown.

 

 



 

WTA Tour
American Mallory Burdette (pictured right), best known for reaching the third round of the U.S. Open in 2012, announced her retirement from professional tennis after a year of shoulder troubles. She was just 23-years-old when she announced her exit from the sport in October 2014, after being inactive for over a year due to her shoulder injury.

Li Na (pictured left), Asia's first Grand Slam singles champion retired in 2014, after a 15-year career due to "chronic" knee injuries at the age of 32. Ranked sixth in the WTA Women’s Singles Rankings at the time of her retirement, she won the French Open in 2011 and the Australian Open in 2014, as well as helping popularize the sport of tennis in Asia.


Emilie Katz
Centercourt
USTA NTC

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