this is SO fun jackie - both to hear your melodious tones, as well as to have the best of awards!

I'm going to have to ponder on this. I'd best get my list of tourney's out, and see what I can remember of them all. dang - but they do begin to blur a bit, no?

aw, no headphones at work, will check them out at home.
thanks for posting that SD.

About the nominations, do we email you ? Or post them all here ? And what might those "awards" be ? tortilla chips? :D

Sorry, it took me so long to reveal but I thought we were going to get a Your Call for Thursday and Davis Cup is tomorrow but without further delay my answer to the debate on Rafael’s 2008 year and Roger’s 2006 year.
**************************************************************************************************
Rafael Nadal (82-11 in 2008) : French Open, Wimbledon, Olympics, Monte Carlo, Hamburg, Toronto, Barcelona, London(Queens)
32 match win streak, obtain number 1 (unofficially) in Cincinnati, defeated Roger Federer in four finals with the last one being at Wimbledon(6-4,6-4,6-7(5),6-7(8),9-7) that ended in darkness, won all 8 titles in 5 months, first person to win the Channel Slam since Bjorn Borg in 1980, first person(I think) to win French Open, London, and Wimbledon consecutively. Including doubles, he played 111 matches and won a doubles title with Tommy Robredo in Monte Carlo.
Roger Federer(92-5 in 2006) : Australian Open, Wimbledon, United States Open, Tennis Masters Cup, Indian Wells, Key Biscayne, Toronto, Madrid, Doha, Halle, Tokyo, Basel
Ended the season with a 29 match win streak(grew to 41 winning Australian Open and Dubai in 2007), 4 of the 5 losses were to Rafael Nadal in Dubai, Monte Carlo, Rome, French Open, streak of making 17 consecutive finals in tournaments played(one short of the all time record of Ivan Lendl) ended in Cincinnati(Murray – R32). Including doubles, he played 103 matches.

Rosangel brought up a great question on how Rafael season would have turned out if he led Spain to the Davis Cup title and he may have won Shanghai but unfortunately due to tendonitis in his knees, we won’t ever know. Rafael won titles on 3 different surfaces in 2 months (starting from the French Open to Toronto achieving the Channel Slam in the process. First time that has been accomplished since Bjorn Borg did it in 1980.

But, my answer to the question is Roger Federer’s 2006 year. With both men having similar stretches of brilliance in their year, what stood out for me was the following after taking out the Slams, Tennis Masters Cup, and Olympic Gold:
(1)Roger made the finals of all tournaments played except for Cincinnati (after he won 4 consecutive 3 set matches in Toronto to win the title)
(2)Roger won the Indian Wells/Key Biscayne double for a 2nd consecutive year which is hard to do. Pete had a post on this earlier this year and called it a Slam but I forgot what he called it.

Hi, jb!

Melodious tones - you flatter me so. ;)

Take your time with your awards - though I just went with my gut for most of them. Didn't need to look at the tourneys to figure out who I was most disappointed with, for example. LOL.

Good choice, Master Ace.

greenhopper, I'm confused??? Just tell us who you think should win each award right here! (Should I make that more clear?)

that's the one that's kind of stopping me jackie, the disappointment one. i'm thinking about it - whilst watching james / fed!

Jackie,
These are the matches that have been nominated so far. Will post WTA next.

Best match of the year: Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer

Other 5 set ATP matches:
Roger Federer and Janko Tipsarevic - Australian Open R32
Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis - Australian Open R32
Andy Roddick and Phillipp Kohlschreiber - Australian Open R32
James Blake and Paul-Henri Mathieu – Davis Cup QF
David Nalbandian and Robin Soderling – Davis Cup QF
David Ferrer and Lleyton Hewitt - French Open R32
Stanislas Wawrinka and Fernando Gonzalez – French Open R32
Fernando Gonzalez and Simone Bolelli - Wimbledon R64
Mikhail Youzhny and Radek Stepanek – Wimbledon R32
Marat Safin and Andreas Seppi - Wimbledon R32
David Ferrer and Mario Ancic - Wimbledon R32
Andy Murray and Richard Gasquet – Wimbledon R16
Feliciano Lopez and Marcos Baghdatis - Wimbledon R16
Fernando Verdasco and Mario Ancic – Wimbledon R16
Rainier Schuettler and Arnaud Clement – Wimbledon QF
Richard Gasquet and Tommy Haas – United States Open R128
Tommy Haas and Gilles Muller - United States Open R64
Nicolas Almagro and Gilles Muller - United States Open R32
David Ferrer and Kei Nishikori - United States Open R32
Juan Martin Del Potro and Gilles Simon - United States Open R32
Roger Federer and Igor Andreev – United States Open R16
Novak Djokovic and Tommy Robredo – United States Open R16
Nikolay Davydenko and Gilles Muller - United States Open R16
David Ferrer and Andy Roddick –Davis Cup SF
***********************************************************
Best 3 set ATP matches(in no certain order):
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Moya - Chennai SF
Andy Roddick and Feliciano Lopez – Dubai F
Mikhail Youzhny and Nicolas Almagro – Key Biscayne R32
Rafael Nadal and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – Indian Wells R16
Novak Djokovic and Mardy Fish – Indian Wells F
Roger Federer and Andy Roddick - Key Biscayne QF
David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro – Valcenia F
Roger Federer and David Nalbandian – Monte Carlo QF
Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer – Barcelona F
Nicolas Kiefer and Andreas Seppi – Hamburg QF
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - Hamburg SF
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – Hamburg F
Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori – Queens R16
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – Queens F
Fernando Gonzalez and James Blake – Olympic SF
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – Olympic SF
Rafael Nadal and Gilles Simon - Madrid SF
David Nalbandian and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - Paris F
Roger Federer and Andy Murray - Shanghai RR

Best matches from the WTA:
Jelena Jankovic/Tamira Paszek - Australian Open R128
Maria Sharapova/Vera Zvonareva - Doha F
Justine Henin/Francesca Schiavone - Dubai R32
Maria Sharapova/Alona Bondarenko - Indian Wells R16
Serena Williams/Jelena Jankovic - Key Biscayne F
Justine Henin/Dinara Safina - Berlin R32
Serena Williams/Dinara Safina - Berlin QF
Elena Dementieva/Dinara Safina - Berlin F
Maria Sharapova/Dinara Safina - French Open R16
Ana Ivanovic/Jelena Jankovic - French Open SF
Serena Williams/Venus Williams - Wimbledon F
Dinara Safina/Elena Dementieva - Olympics F
Serena Williams/Venus Williams - United States Open QF
Serena Williams/Jelena Jankovic - United States Open F
Ana Ivanovic/Venus Williams - Zurich SF
Jelena Jankovic/Venus Williams - Sony Ericsson Championships SF

You are confused over my question regarding the posting confusion Jackie ? Okay, my job here is done. ;)

"Social Director's awardees!"
I read this wrong -- you meant your picks -- I thought you are giving us awards for our nominations. lol.

Jackie, darling, I know I can count on you to provide the pictures I need to perk up my day.:)

I love photos when Roger is shouting, laughing, whatever. With that big jaw, has such a huge mouth - I bet he can fit his whole fist in it.

God, I adore him.:)

LOL, greenhopper. Alas, no. Just a virtual hug for participating. :) I hope you still share your picks!

Er, all my first picks had Rafa in them, so I will think again and make sensible ones. :)

Jackie, nice post.

HA, vetmama! The minute I saw the photo, I KNEW I had to include it. What a moment.

People, where are your awardees?! I'm impatient. :)

Jackie,
Should you not include the Wimbledon final in the best of 5 since that match is number 1 or 2 all time next to 1980 Borg/McEnroe.

hee! Jackie. I'm still thinkinnnggg...

Ah, MA, I considered it. Still, it'll be interesting to see how many DON'T pick it, even without prompting ...

Let's see how it goes. (Still nothing so far!)

ok - I think I have my picks - although I have none for the WTA specifically
MVP - Nadal
Most Improved - JMDP
Breakout - Kei Nishikori -
Most disappointing - sadly that would be Richard
Best Rivalry - Nadal / Federer
Match - 5 sets - gentlemen's Wimbledon final
Match 3 sets - Queen's - Nadal / Djokovic
Most shocking - I have two that come to mind
a) Henin's retirement
b) Federer telling Djoko's parents to be quiet

Jackie-I love hearing the voice overs! You sound fantastic, and really nothing like I would have expected (not that I've spent a lot of time thinking about it). :) Kudos to Arun for posting them for you.

The awards...hmmm...I have to think about it too. I can't just pull that stuff out of my head this fast.

Thanks, jewell! And I can't imagine you'd have Rafa down for "Most Disappointing." ;)

Nice, beth. We have quite a bit of overlap!

I'm assuming we're posting here. I will try not to be homerish with my picks.

MVP: Rafael Nadal (best player this year on 2 different surfaces, plus Masters Shields on 3 different surfaces) make this man the Oscar Robertson of the ATP.

Most Improved: Gilles Simon

Breakout Player: Juan Martin del Potro. I am not a fan, but there cannot be any doubt. Last year I thought he was well behind the likes of other players his age (Gulbis, Cilic, etc.) but this year he shot up far beyond them. Frankly, I think he might end up being better than Murray.
Most disappointing: He can still get a good result (made final in Paris) but David Nalbandian edges out Richard Gasquet after his stellar finish last year.

Best Rivalry: I actually think Murray/Djokovic has the most potential, but of course it's Federer and Nadal.
Match of the Year (5): Nadal def. Federer, Wimbledon Final

Match of the Year (3): Roddick def. Federer (I'm not a Federer hater, honest, but I am a Roddick KAD. I can't resist this one.)

Best Moment: All the way back in 1533, when Nostradamus predicted the Greatest Tennis Player of All Time. He hasn't been born yet.

I should also include Gulbis in the breakout category
I forgot him in my previous post
so
for breakout player - Kei Nishikori and Ernests Gulbis

Aw, Violetta - thank you so much! :)

Jackie - does that mean I win a prize
poster with most in common with social director picks

I win , I win , I win

sorry - got carried away :)
got to try to hear those voice overs now

"Best Moment: All the way back in 1533, when Nostradamus predicted the Greatest Tennis Player of All Time. He hasn't been born yet. "

I'm curious Black Matt, who did he predict ?

This is all I got from googling "Nostradamus + tennis":

** A child without hands, lighting never so great was seen,
The Royal child, wounded at the tennis court,
Bruised at the well, lightning going to the ground,
Three in the midst of the field shall be struck thereby.
(Hint: The Royal child was second born to be the true Messiah at the present time.) **

Okay ... I'm gonna roll with MA's suggestion. For the 5-setter, let's exclude the Fed-Nadal Wimbles classic. That'll make this more interesting! (I'll make the change above, as well.)

Afternoon, all. ATP only:

Most Valuable Player - Rafael Nadal
Most Improved Player - Andy Murray
Breakout Player - Juan Martin Del Potro
Most Disappointing Player - Nicolas Almagro
Best Rivalry - Federer - Nadal (still)
Match of the Year (Best of 5, ATP only) - Wimbledon F 2000
Match of the Year (Best of 3) - Hamburg SF Djokovic - Nadal
Most Inspiring/Shocking/Funny Moment (pick one - or make up your own!) - John McEnroe acts like a human being rather than a journalist in his post match interview with Federer after Wimbledon F.

Master Ace-

I knew it. But where is NP? Nowhere to be found...

Man, MAN. Andrew, are you me? Only one discrepancy - wait, two counting that last one.

And was the Jonny Mac moment Inspiring, Shocking, or Funny? Or all of the above? ;)

LOL, beth.

Best 3 setter of the year? How about Murray defeating Federer at the TMC in the RR stage? 4-6, 7-6 and 7-5 after Federer fended off 7 match points??

Damn that Wimbledon final I didn't see! (this year's, not 1980's)

It was wonderfully exciting to stay up all night watching Federer/Tipsarevic in January.

I'd say the ladies RG final was rather inspiring. It was nice to get confirmation that Ivanovic wasn't going to be a "Kournikova"

ok - if that is the rule then - I will say Fed / Tipsarevic for best 5 setter
but only under protest
because no way was that a better match than the Wimbledon men's final

and i love the voiceover tapes , Jackie

My picks will have to wait till tomorrow, I'm off to bed...sorry, Jackie.

I will leave the tea things out, help yourselves. :)

*decorates tea table with holly and ivy and sparkly lights in anticipation of Christmas*

Goodnight, everyone, I'm going to sleep so well now I know Master Ace's answer! - I had not thought about Roger making the finals of every tournament but Cincy - what an achievement! Of course objectively better than Rafa's 2008. But I admit to preferring the latter. :)

Another good choice, wise beth. And many thanks. :)

ATP

Most Valuable Player - Rafael Nadal

Most Improved Player - Juan Martin Del Potro

Breakout Player - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Most Disappointing Player - Richard Gasquet

Best Rivalry - Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer
Match of the Year (Best of 5, ATP only) -Besides the Wimbledon final, James Blake vs Paul-Henri Mathieu Davis Cup. If Paul would have held serve in the deciding set, that tie would have been 1-all and with the pressure on the Bryan Brothers but James played the best return games of his ATP career winning the last 4 games of the match.

Match of the Year (Best of 3) - Rafael Nadal vs Carlos Moya in the 4 hour thriller from Chennai. All sets were decided in tiebreaks and Carlos served for the match but Rafael broke him to force a tiebreak. Just need to know was it in set 2 or set 3.

Most Inspiring/Shocking/Funny Moment - Roger Federer " Be Quiet" to the Djokovic then clearing the mark signaling the ball was in.

WTA will be done later as I am about to leave my day job:)

got to run
off to get a haircut
really in need of some fixin up
will be back to see how things are going later

Okay, I have my picks:

Most Valuable Player : Rafael Nadal
Most Improved Player : I have a tie here with Any Murray and Gilles Simon. Don’t ask me to choose because I can’t.
Breakout Player: Juan Martin Del Potro
Most Disappointing Player: I’ll go with Ferrer. After the way he played at the YEC in 2007, his crash and burn out of the top 10 is a bit of a mystery.
Best Rivalry: Still Federer/Nadal, although Murray/Federer is a close second.
Match of the Year (Best of 5):Wimbledon Final
Match of the Year (Best of 3): Rafael Nadal and Gilles Simon - Madrid SF
Most Inspiring/Shocking/Funny Moment: Nole after his match with Roddick at the USO. Shocking!

Violetta, after the Wimbles final, what's the next best 5-setter? Changing the rules a bit here ...

And I'm loving everyone's awards! Keep 'em coming!

Most Valuable Player - ATP - Rafa and got nothing on WTA.
Most Improved Player -
ATP:
le Muz (starting Wimbles. Queens actually.)
Breakout Player - Tsonga & JMdP to a major level. Kei, Gulbis, Marin are pretty good young prospects.
WTA:
Dinara

Most Disappointing Player - Nico "why do you care" Almagro, for the men and Nicole Vaidisova among the women.

Best Rivalry -- Fedal.

Match of the Year (Best of 5, ATP only) - Other than the BMOAT,
Muzz-Reeshard in Wimbles will be my pick.

Match of the Year (Best of 3)
ATP: Hamburg SF of Rafa/Nole.
WTA: I'm guilty of not watching too many WTA matches.
I'll go with the Wimbles final and USO finals. they were very high quality matches, even if they didn't go the distance.

Most Inspiring/Shocking/Funny Moment (pick one - or make up your own!) --
-- Justine Henin retiring was a huge shock.
-- Inspiring, Fed/Wawa winning gold and Kei beating Blake for his first ATP title.

Most Valuable Player : Rafael Nadal

Most Improved Player : Rafael Nadal

Breakout Player: Juan Martin Del Potro

Most Disappointing Player: Nalbandian yet again.

Best Rivalry: Federer vs Nadal

Match of the Year (Best of 5):Wimbledon Final

Match of the Year (Best of 3): Murray d. Federer TMC RR 4-6,7-6,7-5 (Federer had 7 MP's saved)

Most Inspiring/Shocking/Funny Moment: Nadal collapsing to the ground to celebrate his victory in Wimbledon.

Most Shocking/Crazy/Dude-is-out-of-his-mind moment: Youzhny bashing his head in at Miami

Oh, Jackie. You would have to ask me that. :)

I have to go with my personal favorite next, which would be Delpo beating Giles in 5 at the USO.

*ducks flying objects*

LOL, Violetta. Unfair of me to pick on you, since most haven't caught the "new" instructions ...

And no worries - Hubby being recognized for his part in a fantastic match, win or lose, makes Jackie happy. :)

Oh yea, bleeding head Youzh -- that'd be my pick for the most shocking moment too.

Head AbYouzh - I still remember that one. ;)

Or shockingly funny moment.

Thanks for being understanding, Jackie. And yes, your Hubby played a fantastic match that day.

Another inspiring moment for me would be Safina's loss to Peer at Wimbledon. Dinara was in such pain during that 3 hour-plus match, and yet she kept fighting until the end.

Okay, here are my picks:

Most Valuable Player : Rafael Nadal
Most Improved Player :Gilles Simon
Breakout Player: A. Murray
Most Disappointing Player: David Nalbandian
Best Rivalry: Federer/Nadal
Match of the Year (Best of 5):Wimbledon Final
Match of the Year (Best of 3): Rafael Nadal and Gilles Simon - Madrid SF (have to agree with Violetta!)
Most shocking moment: Federer losing Wimbledon crown

HEY ALL!!!!!!!!!

ATP PICKS:

Most Valuable Player: Roger Federer (ok, so I'm biased)
Most Improved Player: Gilles Simon/JMDP
Breakout Player: Novak/Muzzah
Most Disappointing Player: Andy Roddick
Best Rivalry: Fedal.
Match of the Year (Best of 5, ATP only ... and let's exclude that one Wimbledon match): Tipsy-Roger AO
Match of the Year (Best of 3): Madrid semis Gilles vs Rafa
Most Inspiring OR Shocking OR Funny Moment (pick one - or make up your own!): Olympic voodoo ceremony!!!!!

I have to get some Keri Lotion...

I agree, Pierre.
Jackie, you make it sound so sexy.:)

HAHAHAHA! Laughing so hard. Pierre/vetmama, you made my day. ;)

well i am back,water in my ears,gee i hate that,Miss Jackie O,again a great topic,though would like to see the woman picks as well no?
First things first,may i congratulate Mr.Roger Federer,for a simply sumpreme season,the highlight was for me the year ending Masters Cup,against James Blake,Roger to me played Perfect tennis,i was in awe of him in that final.,as i say before many times over

Perfection on a stick,especially in the series final,even the commentators were in awe,a truly masterclass performance,really Roger,you give me the,you know what at times,makes this game look soo easy,for me,anyway,Roger you are all class,with a capitol "C".

Jackie:

Love your commercial tape!! (haven't listened to the voiceover one yet.) The Dannon commerical was the very best imho. wow. neat.

Most Valuable Player - Rafa
Most Improved Player - JMDP/Simon
Breakout Player - Murray/Tsonga
Most Disappointing Player - Reeshie/Nalby :(
Best Rivalry - Fedal, Nodal
Match of the Year (Best of 5, ATP only ... and let's exclude that one Wimbledon match) - Fed-Tipsy/Fed-And (for drama)AND PEHK-ARod for quality
Match of the Year (Best of 3) - Fed-Murray (TMC)/Rafa-Nole (Hamburg)
Most Inspiring OR Shocking OR Funny Moment -
Inspiring - Fed's USO victory (more than his Olym Gold)
Shocking - Henin's retirement

Hi, aussiemarg! I totally want to see folks' WTA picks ... but doesn't seem like many are that into it. I personally have both ATP and WTA awardees, which I'll share next week. :)

sorry for typos.

Hi,

This is for ATP only:

Most Valuable Player: Roger Federer
Most Improved Player: Gilles Simon
Breakout Player: Andy Murray
Most Disappointing Player: Richard Gasquet
Best Rivalry: Federer and Nadal
Match of the Year (Best of 5, ATP only ... and let's exclude that one Wimbledon match): Richard Gasquet vs Andy Murray Wimbledon
Match of the Year (Best of 3): Rafael Nadal vs Gilles Simon Madrid
Most Inspiring OR Shocking OR Funny Moment (pick one - or make up your own!): Youzhny battering his head with his racquet (under shocking)

Merci, Syd!

Producer Man loved the Dannon one, as well ... was my very last read.

Jackie: Listened to the Voiceover Demos - they both sound awesome!

Where are my WTA fans? (Jacko? C Note?)

Jackie - your voice is FILTH.

I want to taste all the incredible goodness of Dannon Lite.

how can Federer be the most valuable player? (twilight zone)
why can't fans be a bit more objective? (scratches head)
i very much like gasquet yet i'd be the first one to nominate him for most disappointing

Thanks, Arun! I guess it was worth all the trouble finding a host, huh? Again, you rock.

HAHAHAHA, RACHAEL!!!

Rawr. :)

well here are my picks for ATP.,

Most Valuable player Rafa Nadal
Improved player gee,Jackie,almost a tie,here,i love hubby,but alas, The Elf, vamos to you!!, sorry Jackie O,

Most disappointing Richard Gasquet,moi is hoping for a better 2009 season,so is Briony,she is looking forward to seeing you at Sydney Medibank and Australian Open,allez Richard.

Best Rivilry Roger/Rafa

Best Match 5 set Wimbledon 2008, yeah Rafa!

Best match 3 set Hamburg final yeah Rafa,finally won here!

Funniest moment When Roger told Novaks parents to be quiet at Monte Carlo,good one Roger!!!!!

Shock Moment Justin Henin retiring.

You know why Helen Keller had an ageless quality about her?
Cos' she used Keri lotion 3 times a day.

WTA
Most Valuable Player :Jelena Jankovic/S.Williams/V.Williams
Most Improved Player :Dinara Safina
Breakout Player: Dinara Safin
Most Disappointing Player: Nicole Vaidisova
Best Rivalry: V. & S. Williams/J. Jankovic
Match of the Year: French Open 4th round: Safina defeats Sharapova
Most shocking moment: J. Henin's retirement announcement

Jackie
up for a little constructive criticism?
your voice: A+
your narrative skills: B-
keep up the good work

Most Valuable Player: Nadal.
Most Improved Player: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Gilles Simon. Tsonga has a MS shield and a GS final, and another tournament win, plus wins over Murray, Nadal and Djokovic. He started the year at number 43 and ended it ranked 6. Simon began the year at 29 and ended it ranked 7. He has achieved wins over Federer, Nadal and Djokovic this year, and reached a Masters Series final, plus the semis at the TMC, and won three additional tournaments. His low point may have been his first-round exit to....Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo in Monte Carlo:)

Breakout Player: An obvious nominee would be Juan Martin Del Potro, though he has yet to score a big win against a big name on a big stage - his amazing run in the summer came at smaller tour-level events, and was eventually stopped by Andy Murray at the US Open. I guess Kei Nishikori gets an honourable mention too.

However, a breakout on a bigger scale was what Andy Murray achieved, with his US Open final, wins over Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Davydenko, two MS shields and three other tournament wins. He's a comfortable number four right now. Until this summer, he'd never even reached a Slam quarterfinal. This year he fulfilled some of the potential that has been talked about for the past three years.

Most Disappointing Player: Novak Djokovic, who seemed like a lost soul at the top table for a large part of the year, after his two big wins at the start. I guess if I'd been making nominations in the first few months of this year, I would have seen it differently.
Best Rivalry: Nadal-Djokovic wasn't bad. Murray-Federer was highly interesting (with the H2H now at 4-2 in Murray's favour), so was Djokovic-Murray, with Murray scoring his first two wins over Djokovic. I'd include Nadal-Federer for the Wimbledon final alone, but in a way it's the rivalry among the top names that seemed to evolve least.
Match of the Year (Best of 5, ATP only); Wimbledon final
Match of the Year (Best of 3); . Nadal overMoya - Chennai semifinal, 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, saving four consecutive match points in the second set tiebreak, and coming back at the last moment from a break down in the final set.
Most Inspiring/Shocking/Funny Moment
Inspiring - Nadal losing 2 Championship points in the fourth-set TB in the Wimbledon final, and coming through to win 9-7 in the fifth while serving from behind. Being there on Centre Court while all the flashbulbs were going off afterwards was magical too.
Shocking (welcome, but still shocking): Nadal bagels Federer in the Roland Garros final.
Amusing: Jelena Jankovic with glitter in her hair for the US Open final, smiling winsomely at her fans (many sitting above me, and she kept glancing at them).

OMG, ptenisnet.

Gawd, I haven't laughed this hard since, well, yesterday. But STILL - the hilarity!!!

LOL, aussiemarg. No worries. S'funny because I don't think any of my "favorites" made the awards list ... doesn't mean I heart them any less. ;)

sasha: Well, one out of two ain't bad. I'll take it. ;) Thanks for the input.

Under "shocking" I'd also like to nominate Novak Djokovic's remarks to the crowd after beating Andy Roddick at the US Open.

Rosangel: I agree with you re: the Fed/Rafa rivalry. Fascinating as it continues to be, I wouldn't put it at the top of my list for '08.

What's your pick for the 2nd best 5-setter of the year?

Jackie:

Thought the voiceover narrations were really good: But especially "Goodnight Moon." (good material helps!) and Sprint! brava, brava. :)

I'll do this, even though I know more about the hair on tour than actual tennis...

Most Valuable Player - Djokovic. keepin' it 3D. I think I now NEED Novak hanging in there at very top to keep me hanging in there.

Most Improved Player - Murray *bites fist*

Breakout Player - Tsonga. I'm not a fan, but out of all the new-to-the-top starlets, I think Tsonga has the most lingering effect. he's got a personality, and a game that is by far the most interesting to watch.

Most Disappointing Player - Ferrer, taking nothing away from his Davis Cup play.

Best Rivalry - meh this is so obvious. sooo, Bryans v Nestor/Zimonjic.

Match of the Year (5) - Ancic df Verdasco Wimbledon R16. just to pick a curveball. I enjoyed this match so very much, I watched it a few times.

Match of the Year (3) - Roddick df Federer Miami QF. oh say whatever the hell you want to take this away from Roddick, you'll never take it away from this Roddick fan.

Most Inspiring/Shocking/Funny moment - standing next to the Worm in Nottingham and kind of fancying him. I was shocked, inspired and amused. don't suppose it counts. hmm. I'll never forget "your mum" gate from Rome. good clean fun.

aww I see someone nominated Bolelli's defeat of Gonzo at Wimbledon as one of the best 5ers. cute. so proud!

ok - this is what I can think among WTA.

Most Valuable Player - JJ/Serena/Vee (all due to different reasons)
Most Improved Player - Safina
Breakout Player - AI/SkiBoots
Most Disappointing Player - Kuzzy/MoMo
Best Rivalry - WiWi
Match of the Year - (apart from the WiWi matches) Safina/Maria (@ RG) and Serena/JJ @ Miami (USO too)
Most Inspiring OR Shocking OR Funny Moment -
Inspiring - Again, Safina's improvement and Venus' 5th Wimby/TMC victories
Shocking - Henin's retirement

also for shocking:

Federer's performance in the French final.

Too kind, Syd. :)

"how can Federer be the most valuable player?"

MVP tends to be an award for team sports. I suppose you could make an argument that Federer was the most valuable player to the sport of tennis this year. If you go with the common reading of MVP as 'best player', then the obvious answer is Nadal.

Jackie ... another great post. And I have to agree, your voice is SEX.

MVP - *sigh* Rafa. I need to take a shower now.

Most Improved - my Elf! Think about how he started off the year and look at him now. I really hope he can keep this momentum going. (Should also be a nominee for Most Improved Hairstyle)

Breakout - Murray. After what seemed like so long nibbling round the edges, he's in with the very top guys now. So proud of him.
Most Disappointing Player - Safin. I know he made a Wimbledon semi, but come on, where was that form in the rest of the year?

Best Rivalry - I'm going with JMDP/Murray, if only because of "Yo' Mamagate". And I think this is only going to develop in the future - but hopefully without the nasty edge. See the USO.

Match of the Year (best of 5): Verdasco-Ancic at Wimbledon. (Honourable mentions: JMDP/Gilles at the USO, Blake/Gonzo at the Olympics)

Match of the Year (best of 3): Rafa-Gilles in Madrid

Most Inspiring Moment: I'm going with Gonzo, in his outfit, carrying the Olympic flag. And then his bursting into tears after beating Blake.

Picks for Atp and Wta

Mvp Roger Federer Wta Jelena Jankovic

Most improved Juan martin Del Potro Wta Dinara Safina

Breakout Player Jo wilifred Tsonga Wta Caroline Wozniacki

Most Disappointing David Ferrer Wta Maria Sharapova

Best Rivalry Federer/Nadal Wta Ivanovic/Jankovic

Best 5 set match Del Potro vs Simon

Best 3 set match Simon vs Nadal Wta S williams vs Jankovic(in Miami)

Most Shocking/Inspiring Moment

Shocking Henin retiring
Inspiring Federer winning Us Open

Most Valuable Player: Rafa
Most Improved Player: Murray
Breakout Player: Djoker
Most Disappointing Player: Richard Gasquet
Best Rivalry: Rafa/Fed
Match of the Year (Best of 5, ATP only): Rafa/Fed Wimby (highest quality/drama match ever seen)
Match of the Year (Best of 3): Murray/Fed
Most Inspiring: Murray's incredible comeback v. a wobbly Gasquet at Wimby + biceps.

And there's gauloises! (I'm beginning to think I'll only be able to get work as a certain type of phone operator ... )

The picks are getting more creative! Loving this!

Gotta get home now. Be back in a bit!

"Best Rivalry - meh this is so obvious. sooo, Bryans v Nestor/Zimonjic."

yay! Rachael.

here are my picks for the wta,

MostValuable player Miss Glitter,JJ

Most improved Dianara Safina

Most disappointing Nicole Vaidosia,mmmm,headcase,also going out with the worm??

Best Rivalry well mmm,the Williams Sister,when they met each other in a final

Match of the year Wimbledon 2008,Miss Vee,5th title,age 28,class,all class!!!!

Shocking Moment Justine Henin retiring.

Hmm.. In some ways, all the 6 rivalries among the Top 4 ATP men are very exciting, with Federer-Murray being my pick - yes, I would like to add this rivalry to my 6:14 post. :-)

Oh! Have to add "Most Inspiring Moment." duh, how could I forget?

Roger Federer winning his 5th consecutive U.S. Open title.

"Oh! Have to add "Most Inspiring Moment." duh, how could I forget?
Roger Federer winning his 5th consecutive U.S. Open title."

*High Fives Syd*

Another rivalry I missed out - Nadal-Murray, with Murray scoring his first win over Nadal, and in a Slam SF. I guess what I'm really saying is that the top four players are providing pretty good value amongst themselves at the moment.

Another thing I should have noted about Murray - he turned in some better performances on clay this year.

Second best five-setter of the year - I'd say something like Kohlschreiber vs. Roddick at the AO (honourable mention to Federer-Tipsarevic). Also, I was there in person for two very exciting doubles matches, when Lopez and Verdasco took on Kolschreiber/Petschner in Bremen, and Fish/Bryan in Madrid, during Davis Cup. Ferrer-Roddick in Madrid during DC was pretty exciting as well.

While thinking of Davis Cup, one of the funniest moments I witnessed was when Roddick was playing Nadal. Nadal was well ahead in the match, and the crowd kept chanting "Rafa, Rafa, Rafa", even at what Roddick must have thought were inopportune moments. Then at one of those moments, Roddick yelled out "yes!" and began conducting the crowd in their chant. For a few seconds, the crowd began chanting "Roddick, Roddick, Roddick"...

Amazingly, Roddick said that he didn't know what had happened with the crowd until Patrick McEnroe told him during the changeover.

Most Valuable Player : Rafael Nadal
Most Improved Player : Again, Rafael Nadal
Breakout Player: Juan Martin Del Potro
Most Disappointing Player: What ever happened to Marcos Baghdatis?
Best Rivalry: Still Rafa and Roger because of one amazing Wimbledon final, but Nadal/Djokovic had the most sustained white-knuckled intensity (Hamburg SF, Queens Final and Olympics SF, three of the most intense matches of the year.
Match of the Year (Best of 5):Wimbledon Final
Match of the Year (Best of 3): Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic - you pick it.
Most Inspiring: Rafa in the twilight climbing up to his box to hug his family after winning Wimbledon.
Weirdest: Djokovic's love letter to the gentle US Open night crowd
Funniest: BE QUIET! ...all right?

Rosangel - good call on that bittersweet moment in the Roddick/Nadal DC match. I'd have laughed had I not cried.
that's my boy.

My pics:

Most Valuable Player : Rafael Nadal
Most Improved Player : Andy Murray
Breakout Player: Juan Martin Del Potro (with a minor shout out to Stan Wawrinka!)
Most Disappointing Player: Marat Safin
Best Rivalry: Fed vs Nadal. Still and always.
Match of the Year (Best of 5): Wimbledon Final (There's just no other match that deserves this title this year. None.)
Match of the Year (Best of 3): There's a lot here, but I'll go with two of the ones in my most recent memory, Fed vs Murray at TMC, and Rafa vs Gilles in Madrid.
Most shocking moment: Nole's outburst after his quarterfinal win over Roddick at the US Open. (with honorable mentions to Youzhny cracking his forehead open with his racket...)

I'm only going to go for a few of these. And some of them really hurt.

# Most Valuable Player Rafa Nadal
# Most Improved Player Andy Murray
# Breakout Player JW Tsonga
# Most Disappointing Player Nalbandian
# Best Rivalry Federer-Nadal
# Most Inspiring OR Shocking Nadal's Wimbledon win

I have to say that Nadal's Wimbledon win wasn't even the least bit inspiring (and definitely not shocking) to me personally, but it was truly astounding moment in a way that transcends my own biases as a fan.

Syd: Thanks for adding the US Open win for Fed as one of the most inspiring moment. It was particulary sweet this year for this Fed fan, after so many sports writers had already written him off going into it.

And of course the Olympic doubles win.

Roadrunnez:

Actually, someone else did it before me, reminding me that it was "my" best tennis experience of the year.

Hi Jackie

my picks:

MVP:
Most Improved: Gilles Simon
Breakout: Andy Murray
Disappointing: Andy Roddick
Best Rivalry: Fedal or Nader (same)
Best 5 setter: wimby final
Best 3 setter: hamburg final
Most shocking moment: Rafa sucking air in his SF match w/ Murray at USO

MVP is rafa obviously, sorry

MPV: Rafa
Most Improved: Toss up...Rafa or Muzzah
Break out: JMDP, the beloved Crazy Elf
Most Disappointing: Marat (ohmygod) Safin
Best Rivalry: still Federer/Nadal but Nadal/Nole and Federer/Murray are good too.
Match: 5 set: Wimbly 3 set: Nadal/Moya Chennai
Inspiring: Nadal Wimbly perseverance
Shocking: omg...Nole at the U.S. Open...my jaw dropped
Funny and Inspiring: Roger and Stan Voodoo Ceremony (still makes me smile)

Most Valuable Player: Nadal

Most Improved Player: Murray & Nadal

Breakout Player: JMDP & Simon

Best Rivalry:

Nadal/Fed is amazing, of course, but I'm kinda sick of talking about both guys. I'll go along with Black Matt's vote for Murray/Djokovic. Love watching those two play.

Match of the Year (Best of 5, ATP only):

Wimby final of course, but aside from that, how about Ferrer/Nishikori and JMDP/Simon at the USO. I only saw the little bit they showed, but the tension was incredible for both. All four guys fought to the death. And they were the same day, if memory serves?

Match of the Year (Best of 3):

Too many to list. Or too many for my feeble brain to recall. Murray/Fed, Nadal-Simon, Nadal-Djokovic (both), on and on we go. :)

Most Inspiring/Shocking/Funny:

Fed's amazing fight against Murray with the bad back, Murray's comeback against Gasquet, Youhzny's head bashing, Djokovic's surreal post-match speech at the USO and the even more surreal TW discussion that followed. :)

But the truly most inspiring is Jackie's voice. Mama mia!! Someone e-mail that address to Gilles. He'll be instantly weak in the knees. :)