Welcome to the 2016 ATP World Tour Awards Presented by Moët & Chandon, where we recognise outstanding players and tournaments. Nominees for the player-voted categories and the new ATP Coach of the Year award will be revealed 17 October.

Voted By Fans

ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favourite presented by Moët & Chandon (Singles, Doubles): The singles player and doubles team receiving the highest number of votes from ATPWorldTour.com fans from now through 7 November.

Determined By Emirates ATP Rankings

ATP World Tour No. 1 Presented by Emirates: The player who ends the year as World No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

ATP World Tour No. 1 Doubles Team Presented by Emirates: The team that ends the year as World No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings.

ATP Star Of Tomorrow Presented by Emirates: The youngest player in the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings as of 7 November 2016.

Voted By Players

Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award: The player who, throughout the year, conducted himself at the highest level of professionalism and integrity, who competed with his fellow players with the utmost spirit of fairness and who promoted the game through his off-court activities.

Most Improved Player of the Year: The player who reached a significantly higher Emirates ATP Ranking by year’s end and who demonstrated an increasingly improved level of performance through the year.

Comeback Player of the Year: The player who has overcome injury/illness in reestablishing himself as one of the top players on the ATP World Tour.

Tournaments of the Year: The tournament in its category that operated at the highest level of professionalism and integrity and which provided the best conditions and atmosphere for participating players.

Categories:

ATP World Tour Masters 1000

ATP World Tour 500

ATP World Tour 250

Note: Tournament awards will be announced in 2017

Voted By Coaches

(New for 2016) ATP Coach of the Year: Voted on by fellow ATP coach members, this award goes to the ATP coach who helped guide his players to a higher level of performance during the year.

Chosen By ATP

Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award: The person who has made outstanding humanitarian contributions. Previous winners include James Blake, Roger Federer, Carlos Moya, former South African President Nelson Mandela and Arthur Ashe.

Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award: The journalist who has made significant contributions to the game of tennis.

In the midst of a resurgent 2016 campaign, Marco Chiudinelli is pushing towards a return to the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. The 35-year-old Swiss, who has soared more than 150 spots to World No. 125, has amassed 25 wins this year on the ATP Challenger Tour and owes much of his success to a dominant run in tie-breaks.

Calm under pressure, Chiudinelli established an impressive streak of 13 consecutive Challenger tie-breaks won from January to September. Despite dropping the first set 7-6(3) to eventual champion Marsel Ilhan at last week’s event in Izmir, Turkey, it will go down as the second-longest streak on the circuit since 2000. Only South Africa’s Wesley Moodie has won more tie-breaks in a row, when he strung together 14 straight from 2002-03.

“I have a lot of runs,” Chiudinelli told ATPWorldTour.com. “Last year, I had a negative one and this was a pretty positive one. It obviously helps me to stay calm in the tie-breaks. They have gone so well for me this year.

“I lost a pretty big one in Davis Cup, but knowing that I won many this year does help. You just keep believing and it definitely gives me confidence knowing that I’ve had such a good tie-break run. It doesn’t give you any guarantees, but this year it’s been good for me.”

Chiudinelli, runner-up in Manila in January and titlist on the hard courts of Wroclaw, Poland, a month later, continues to turn back the clock as the season progresses. After reaching the US Open second round as a qualifier, the Swiss carried the momentum into Istanbul, advancing to his fourth Challenger semi-final of the year (l. to Sela). He will look to start a new tie-break streak at this week’s prestigious indoor event in Orleans, France.

Tecnifibre star Daniil Medvedev has graduated this year from ITF Futures tournaments to ATP Challenger Tour events and it may not be long before he becomes a regular fixture on the ATP World Tour.

Medvedev is currently at a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 136 and is still in a position to crack the Top 100 by the end of the season. Competing at this week’s $125,000+H ATP Challenger Tour event in Orleans, France, the 20 year old Russian defeated fourth seed and defending champion Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany in the opening round.

“A lot of the guys told me how good this tournament is, but it’s my first time here and I’m very impressed,” said Medvedev. “It looks a lot like an ATP World Tour event to me.“

Starting out 2016 at No. 329 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Medvedev began the year playing ITF Futures events. But as his game has continued to flourish, so have the surroundings he has found himself competing in.

“It’s definitely a difference to be playing Challengers now,” said Medvedev. “The level of the players is stronger and the organisation is better. Everything is just bigger and better now.”

Medvedev has won 10 of his past 11 ATP Challenger Tour matches. After reaching the finals in August at the $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Portoroz, Slovenia, he broke through last month with his first Challenger title at the $50,000 tournament in St. Remy, France.

“It was a big moment for me,” said Medvedev. “Anytime you win your first tournament, whether it’s in juniors or ITF Futures, it’s a very strong moment. I’d be trying to do that for awhile, so I was very happy to finally achieve it.”

But while Medvedev has already created a season that he’s happy with, he’s still not completely content yet.

“It’s been a very good year. My [Emirates ATP] ranking has gone up a lot,” he said. “I have no points to defend now, so I hope to finish inside the Top 100 by the end of the season.”

Third seed Richard Gasquet tore through his Shenzhen Open second round on Wednesday, dismissing qualifier Andrew Whittington 6-1, 6-0 in just 51 minutes.

The Frenchman lost only eight points on serve and broke Whittington five times as he sealed his 27^th win of the season. The 30-year-old Gasquet is looking to get back on track after a disappointing recent stretch, which saw him forced out of Toronto with a rib injury and suffer a first-round exit to Kyle Edmund at the US Open.

Next up for Gasquet will be Mischa Zverev, who reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final in almost a year on Wednesday as he upset seventh seed Fabio Fognini 7-6(3), 6-4.

Zverev, who came through qualifying, fired 10 aces and won 79 per cent of his service points as he claimed victory in 81 minutes. His last quarter-final showing came in Valencia last year, where he also defeated Fognini before falling to Roberto Bautista Agut.

Mischa’s younger brother, 19-year-old Alexander Zverev, was forced to withdraw from this ATP World Tour 250 tournament, citing fatigue after arriving late from St. Petersburg, where he won his first ATP World Tour title on Sunday (d. Wawrinka).

Thomas Fabbiano was the lucky loser to replace Zverev and the Italian made good on his opportunity as he defeated Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in just under two hours in the first round.

Fognini was not the only seed to exit on Wednesday. Malek Jaziri ousted second seed David Goffin 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2 in just over two hours. The Tunisian is through to his second ATP World Tour quarter-final in as many weeks after reaching the last eight in Metz (l. to Simon).

Goffin was coming off a semi-final showing in Metz (l. to Pouille) and dropped to a 38-19 match record on the season.

Second Seeds Reach Semis

Second seeds Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin reached the Shenzhen semi-finals with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Mikhail Kukushkin and Stephane Robert. The Austrian/French duo are 15^th in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London and are chasing their third title of the season after victories in Chennai and Delray Beach.

Elsewhere, third seeds Mate Pavic and Michael Venus opened their bid with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Chinese pairing Mao-Xin Gong and Ze Zhang.