Laureus hat-trick for Federer

Updated 14.21 Tue Apr 03 2007
Keywords: Roger Federer, awards, Laureus, football, tennis, sport

Roger Federer has become the first man to win the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year three years in a row.

The 25-year-old from Switzerland has been honoured for his continued domination of the tennis world.

"It is a great honour for me to recieve this award for the third straight year - which is a record" - Roger Federer

He told reporters: "It is a great honour for me to recieve this award for the third straight year - which is a record - and I'm very proud of being named from the great academy at Laureus for being the great sportsman of the year.

Tennis was the big winner at the awards ceremony with Serena Williams taking the Comeback of the Year award while Amelie Mauresmo won the Breakthrough prize after winning two Grand Slam titles.

Mauresmo said: "I'm really thrilled with this award. I Ithink it's a great reward for me for this great season I had last year. It was really a big breakthrough for me in tennis and in the world of sports in general and I just want to tell you how proud I am."

European football champions Barcelona were given the Spirit of Sport award for their support of Unicef while World Cup-winning former Germany captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer was handed a lifetime achievement award.

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