Serena Williams and Amelie Mauresmo Score Big at 2007 Laureus Awards
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Apr 3, 2007 | Print
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The Laureus World Sports Academy has announced that former world number ones Amelie Mauresmo and Serena Williams are recipients of their 2007 Laureus World Sports Awards.
Last year was a major breakthrough season for France’s Amelie Mauresmo as she triumphed in two Grand Slam finals and recaptured the number one ranking.
Despite being one of the top tennis players in the world for several years, Mauresmo had no success in winning Grand Slam events. Her talents were never questioned, but she was criticized for her mental strength after succumbing to nerves in Grand Slams. In consecutive tournaments at Wimbledon she lost to Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport after leading comfortably. However her big breakthrough came in 2006 when she won not just one, but two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
For winning the 2007 Australian Open women’s title, Serena Williams has received the World Comeback of the Year award.
She amazed the tennis world when she upset top seed Maria Sharapova in a one-sided final to win her third Australian Open and eighth Grand Slam title, just days before the end of the Laureus qualifying year. The victory marks a remarkable comeback for Williams who slipped out of the top 100 in the world rankings last year and missed both the French Open and Wimbledon after a serious knee injury. The unseeded American’s speed and power overwhelmed Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 in little more than an hour.
The Laureus World Sports Awards is the only global sports awards honoring the greatest sportsmen and women across all sports each year. The winners are selected by the ultimate sports jury - the 44 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, a collection of the world’s greatest sportsmen and women. The living legends of sport honoring the great athletes of today.
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