Chronicle EditorLONDON. – Briton Andy Murray and Germany’s Angelique Kerber were named ITF World Champions on Tuesday, capping stellar years for the men’s and women’s tennis world number ones.Murray, whose brother Jamie was named doubles World Champion along with Brazil’s Bruno Soares, won Wimbledon in July before becoming the first player to win two Olympic singles gold medals when he retained his crown in Rio de Janeiro in August.
He won nine titles in a milestone year that ended with him beating rival Novak Djokovic to win the ATP Tour Finals and seal the year-end rankings top spot.
“It means a lot to me to be named ITF World Champion. I have had such a memorable year,” Murray said in a statement.
Kerber enjoyed an equally impressive season, winning the Australian and U.S. Open titles as well as an Olympic silver medal in Rio.
She becomes the first German to win the award since Steffi Graf claimed the last of her seven in 1996.
Meanwhile, A report from a Serbian publication revealed that Novak Djokovic could sign up Nenad Zimonjic as a new coach.
According to Telegraf, Zimonjic – a fellow Serb, a former doubles world number player and three time grand slam winner – could replace Boris Becker as head coach of Djokovic’s team.
The German legend and Djokovic split earlier this month following a disappointing end to the year, where he lost his world number one ranking to Andy Murray.
Marian Vajda, Djokovic’s long-time coach, will remain part of the coaching team but is apparently unable to travel with the 12-time grand slam winner to all of the tournaments. Thus, it is imperative for Djokovic to find a replacement for Becker in the near future. – Reuters.
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