Bulldog Smoltz said:
I would have voted for Djokovic. Amazing year.
He didn't make a final after the U.S. Open. Yes, he had 10 wins including three majors. But Federer had 11 wins in 2004 and 2005, then 12 in 2006 and won three majors in 2004 and 2006. He never AP athlete of the year (though part of that is because Lance Armstrong won four years in a row from 2002-05).
Djokovic had a great season. Had he finished stronger, I would agree that he would have deserved it. But he struggled down the stretch, losing to Murray in the Cincinnati final, not even making the semifinals in Paris and being knocked out in the round robin in the ATP finals. I recognize that most of the voters probably had no idea Djokovic had finished weak, but I think the voters for the AP Male Athlete of the Year have made fairly clear that male tennis players are going to have a hard time being taken seriously. It's Grand Slam or nothing.
Only two male tennis players have won: Don Budge (1936, 1937) and John McEnroe (1981). Both were Americans. Budge won the Grand Slam (in the amateur era) in 1937. McEnroe and Budge in 1937 won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open while not competing in the Australian and French opens. McEnroe won 10 total titles in an era in which he played significantly fewer tournaments.
