The Dr Bhushan Sharma 2009 Indian Tennis Player Of the Year

[S_K_S]

This year marks the inaugral Dr Bhushan Sharma Indian Tennis Player of the Year Award. As you probably know "The Doc" as he was affectionately known passed away this year. He was one of the shining lights of the forum and a passionate supporter of Indian Tennis and thus this I would propose that this annual award be created in his name.

I was limited to 10 options so I have gone for 10 of the top 8 men from the singles rankings and the top 2 women.

Rather than just vote it would be nice if members wrote a few lines to explain why they were voting for their choice.

I have put Prakash in there because for me he is an Indian. If you don't agree all you have to do is not vote for him. Please let's not have an argument in this topic about whether his name should be on the list or not.

I will try and get a small trophy made and get it inscribed with the the winners name and maybe someone close to the winning player can present the trophy at some point next year.

The closing day for votes is 10th Jan - The finals day of the Chennai Open

My apologies for not seeking the prior permission of the Docs family to use his name for the award. Unfortunately I don't have any contact details. If anyone from his family feels this is not suitable please let me know by leaving me a message.

[deepak]

What about doubles players? No Lee, Mahesh or Harsh? i think they deserve more than some players in the list.

<Thanks for the suggestion. Changes made - Samarth>

[gbelday]

Thanks Sam for starting this! I really miss Doc and his witty posts. I hope the scholarship fund that we talked about in his forum turns into a reality soon.
I voted for Sania because there isn't anyone among the current Indian players whose achievements come anywhere close to what she has achieved so far. She is the lone star in an otherwise dull Indian (women) tennis landscape. She is capable of much more and I wish her (and Indian tennis) well for the future.

[Prashant]

I am interpreting this as an annual award, i.e. the player I think is most deserving of recognition for 2009, without thinking about previous performance or future prospects. Is that correct?

[Atithee]

I voted for Somdev because I feel he has not only gone to personal highs, but also shown the way to a lot of Indian hopefuls out there. I also feel he'll bring glory to India in the singles arena that only Sania has been able to do in the recent times. Yuki would have been my second choice, but I believe in rewarding performance not potential. Perhaps Yuki would be my choice next year.

[Prem]

I have voted for Somdev as I feel he has played well in ATP events. However my vote goes to him for his remarkable performance in DAVIS CUP which helped India enter the World Group. His superb win the deciding rubber and that too away in South Africa was key..........

[S_K_S]

I am interpreting this as an annual award, i.e. the player I think is most deserving of recognition for 2009, without thinking about previous performance or future prospects. Is that correct?

Yes Prashant. Based on performances during the calendar year 2009

[Prashant]

In that case, I've voted for Leander Paes. His two GS doubles titles speak for themselves. Somdev's performance this year has been encouraging and I very much expect to be voting for him next year, barring injury.

[Kumar]

Somdev...It was a toss up between Leander and Somdev.. but Finals in the first tournament of the year swings it in Somdev's favor

[vidhyashankar]

Davis cup victory is more special for me and my choice is SOMDEV...

[S_K_S]

Interesting replies and we have a clear leader. Would have expected more votes for Lee with 2 slams. Plenty of time to vote. Come on all you regulars - get voting!

[sameerph]

This year saw some special performances from Indian tennis players. Yuki Bhambri became the first indian junior to win a grand slam since Leander & then had an excellent run in Indian futures circuit winning 5 titles. Leander won 2 grand slams after a long time.

But, I rate achivements in mens singles higher then juniors & doubles. Therefore, my vote goes to Somdev . He had 3 remarkable performances this year. He became the first Indian player to reach an ATP final after more then 10 years, first Indian male player to make it to grand slam main draw after 7 years & led India to davis cup world group after 6-7 years.

[suresh]

I am yet to vote and will wait a while before voting. It is nice to see people make good arguments for the person they have voted -- clearly I, rather my vote, can be bought by a good argument.

[arjun2761]

The man of year for me is Somdev. Finally, having a near top 100 Indian in mens singles as well as the lion heart showing in Davis Cup outweigh the superlative GS doubles play of LP, the solid top 100 singles play of Sania, or the early stage break out performances of Yuki.

[kna]

Somdev - Davis Cup, Chennai, US Open, rankings improvement, fighting spirit, doing it his way.