In the court of public opinion, two different voices were heard. One side is convinced that Djourou will win, asserting that the Laureus Award is all about personal achievement and that the Serbian king has nothing to worry about but to wait for the good news; the other side is filled with sadness, saying that Djourou has withdrawn from the Madrid Masters and that Muguruza has announced her retirement. This year's Madrid tournament has already been heartbreaking, and if Djourou fails to win this time around, it could stir up a surge of anger in the city, and the tennis legend may have to lose out to the so-called "traffic" again.
The intense battle between these two voices has made this year's Laureus Sports Awards a major concern in public opinion, with some people even staying up late to watch the ceremony in order to get a glimpse of whether or not De Jong will win the trophy. Everyone is looking forward to seeing if the award will be another cold one, and whether Messi or De Jong will end up with the trophy.
Fortunately, the final result was a relief to fans and netizens, as Djourou finally lifted the little gold medal, to the relief of his supporters, and to the emotion of many, "This time the Laureus Sports Awards did not fall into the clutches of traffic after all."
Although De Jong failed to win the tournament some time ago, he hoped that by breaking the 'title drought' in the Laureus tournament, he would inject more motivation and good luck into his identity as the world No. 1, and show better performance on the court. De Jong's joyful smile infected many fans and netizens, who expressed their excitement and sent their best wishes to the Serbian ace.
Looking back at the Laureus Best Male Athlete Award, which caught the attention of millions of fans, De Jong's win was well deserved. In addition to Laureus officials revealing it in advance via a post, external odds also show that many believe Lionel Messi is not the favorite for the Best Male Athlete award and is a much bigger threat to De Jong. The Emperor of Soccer, Lionel Messi, is only third on the odds list, while De Jong is the most popular candidate, with odds ahead of the other nominees, and is seen as the most promising player to win the award.
Djourou managed to win this year's Best Male Athlete award, bringing his trophy tally to five, equaling Swiss ace Federer. The two of them became the athletes who have won this award the most times, sharing five trophies. This also makes tennis a strong performer when it comes to the Laureus Best Male Athlete Award, with a total of 12 trophies, of which Deyo and Federer have won five each and Nadal two.
In addition, Djourou has been nominated six times and won five Best Male nominations in addition to winning this year's Best Male Athlete award, and is considered to be the most awarded athlete. It has been pointed out that according to the information provided by AI, Nadal has been nominated for Best Male nine times and won twice, while Federer has been nominated seven times and won five Best Male awards. Obviously, in this regard, Djourou stands out the most!
While Deyo's win was cheered by many, this year's Laureus Sports Awards were a disappointment to many fans and netizens.
At the 2024 Laureus Sport Awards ceremony, in addition to Djourou's nomination for Best Male, Svartak was nominated for Best Female, Gough competed for Best Breakthrough, and Vandrosova competed for Best Comeback. However, contrary to expectations, tennis was not the biggest winner of the awards once again, with only De Jong winning the Best Male Individual award.
In the Purple Flower Championship, Swatek lost to eventual winner Bon Mattei, who led the Spanish women's soccer team to the Women's World Cup title. Gough lost to Real Madrid's Bellingham. Vanjesova lost to gymnastics queen Biles, who won four gold medals at last year's World Gymnastics Championships.
However, this year's public service award went to the Nadal Foundation in recognition of "the program's belief in the innovative power of sport, which has helped more than 1,000 disadvantaged young people in Spain and India to reach their full potential." The fact that Djokovic and Nadal were joined on stage by two superstars to receive the award is an added consolation for fans and netizens alike - after all, tennis wasn't the biggest winner at this year's Laureus Sports Awards.
Djourou became the only tennis player to make it to the opening screen of the Laureus Sports Awards this year, and many expect this good fortune to help the Serbian ace blossom even more brightly on the court, where he is expected to remain a favorite to compete for the Best Male Athlete award next year.
