NADAL ENDS FEDERER'S ESPY REIGN

After six straight years of finishing runner-up to Roger Federer at the ESPY Awards,Rafael Nadal claimed Best Male Tennis Player for the first time, beating out both the Swiss and new World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the category.

Writing on his official Facebook page, which has 7.6 million followers, Nadal said, "I want to thank to the ESPYS’ jury for having chosen me as the best male tennis player of the year. I’m very proud of receiving this award. It will help me to keep working hard not to disappoint those who have voted me :)"

Nadal had also been nominated for Best Male Athlete award, but was beaten out in online voting by Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki. The German became the first non-American to win this distinction in the 19-year history of the ESPY Awards.

Serena Williams, who was present at the ceremony hosted by Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers on Wednesday evening in Los Angeles, received the ESPY Award for Best Female Tennis Player.

Player Vignette - Gael Monfils

ATP ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL ‘ATP ACES FOR CHARITY’ GRANT RECIPIENTS

LONDON - The ATP has announced the 12 inaugural recipients of its ATP ACES For Charity grant programme. Grants of $10,000 each will be awarded by the ATP on an annual basis to charitable causes nominated by ATP World Tour 
players and tournaments.


This year’s recipients include The Rafa Nadal Foundation, the Bryan Brothers Foundation, the Japan Tennis Association’s earthquake relief fund, and organisations supporting a range of causes, including healthcare for children in Memphis and Bucharest, relief for victims of natural disasters in Pakistan and Japan, sports and education programmes for disadvantaged youth in Washington DC and the Congo, and social services for the disabled in Argentina and China.

The ATP ACES For Charity programme, launched earlier this year, is a global initiative aimed at giving back to communities where ATP World Tour events are played, as well as recognising and supporting tournament and player charitable initiatives.

POLI-FARBE Budapest Grand Prix

Roberta Vinci has won the POLI-FARBE Budapest Grand Prix to claim her third title of the season! Trailing 4-2 in the final set, she staged her third comeback of the tournament to edge Irina-Camelia Begu 64 16 64; congrats!