Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will renew their historic rivalry away from the court in Monte Carlo on Tuesday as the tennis stars go head-to-head to take home the prestigious Laureus Sportsman of the Year award.
Both Federer and Nadal claimed two Grand Slam titles each in 2017, with the Swiss star the firm favourite to win the accolade for a record fifth time in Monaco.
Having won the gong for four consecutive years from 2005 and 2008, Federer can go past Usain Bolt, another four-time winner, while a British trio in runner Mo Farah, cyclist Chris Froome and Formula One star Lewis Hamilton join Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo as the other nominees for the coveted prize.
Neither of those four have previously won the award but Nadal did triumph in 2011 – although he is not expected to be at the event in person given he returns to action at the Mexican Open inĀ Acapulco this week.
In the women’s category, reigning Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza and three-time 800m world champion Caster Semenya join an all-American quartet of 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams, 16-time world athletics championship medalist Allyson Felix, 19-year-old swimming sensation Katie Ledecky and Overall World Cup champion skier Mikaela Shiffrin as the nominees.
Excited to be heading to Monaco for the @LaureusSport Awards! Good luck to all the Nominees šŖ see you next week š #Laureus18
ā Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) February 23, 2018
An array of sports make-up the six hopefuls in the Laureus World Team of the Year category with tennisā France Davis Cup Team, NBA champions Golden State Warriors, Formula One world champions Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Super Bowl champions New England Patriots, sailingās New Zealand Americaās Cup Team, and Champions League winners Real Madrid the chief contenders.
After a stellar year in the ring in which he unified the WBA, IBO and IBF heavyweight titles, boxer Anthony Joshua is tipped to win theĀ Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year category, but faces competition from the likes of Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe, French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and Spaniard Sergio Garcia.
Elsewhere, following their remarkable Champions League 6-1 comeback against PSG, Barcelona are in contention for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year category. Federer, meanwhile, is also in the mix to win that award along with Italian MotoGP star Valentino Rossi, 100m hurdle world champion Sally Pearson, 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.
Marcel Hug, who won three world titles and five leading marathons is joined by three-time Grand Slam winning wheelchair tennis player Yui Kamiji, four-time world champion cross-country skier Oksana Masters, snowboarder Bibian Mentel-Spee, Ironman Para world champion Jetze Plat and T44 Long Jump world champion Markus Rehm are all in the running to be named the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability category.
For the full award nominations and more information on the Laureus Sport for Good Awards, click here.
