Ieri sera al Microsoft Theater di Los Angeles si è tenuta la 23esima edizione degli ESPY Awards, premio assegnato dal network americano ESPN ai migliori atleti e alle migliori performance sportive degli ultimi 12 mesi. Era alquanto scontato che a prevalere nelle categorie “Miglior Tennista Maschile” e “Miglior Tennista Femminile” fossero gli attuali numeri 1 del mondo, Novak Djokovic e Serena Williams.

Il serbo, vincitore solo quest’anno all’Australian Open e a Wimbledon, nonché finalista al Roland Garros, ha sbaragliato la concorrenza di Marin Cilic, campione a sorpresa allo Us Open nel 2014, di Roger Federer, recente finalista a Wimbledon e vincitore della Coppa Davis con la Svizzera lo scorso anno, e di Stan Wawrinka, anch’esso campione in Davis ma soprattutto assoluto trionfatore all’Australian Open 2014 e al Roland Garros 2015.

Serena Williams, invece, vincitrice fin qui di tre quarti di Slam (Australian Open, Roland Garros e Wimbledon), è stata preferita a Maria Sharapova, campionessa al Roland Garros nel 2014 e finalista quest’anno all’Australian Open, a Petra Kvitova, vincitrice a Wimbledon sempre nel 2014, e a Simona Halep, finalista ai French Open e ai WTA Championships lo scorso anno.

Novak Djokovic era tra i candidati a vincere anche il premio “Miglior Atleta Internazionale”, premio poi andato al calciatore del Barcellona e della nazionale argentina Lionel Messi. Non ce l’ha fatta neanche Serena Williams ad essere eletta “Miglior Atleta Femminile”, riconoscimento andato per il secondo anno consecutivo a Ronda Rousey, lottatrice nella MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). Scelta, quest’ultima, quanto mai discutibile.

Questa la lista completa dei vincitori:

Best Team

New England Patriots
Connecticut Huskies
Golden State Warriors
Chicago Blackhawks
Ohio State Buckeyes
U.S. Women’s Soccer (WINNER)

Best Record-Breaking Performance

Lauren Chamberlain hits 91st home run in NCAA softball
Devin Hester takes punt in for 20th touchdown return
Peyton Manning throws record-509th touchdown pass (WINNER)
Klay Thompson scores 37 points in a single quarter

Best Breakthrough Athlete

Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants
Mo’ne Davis, Little League Baseball (WINNER)
Cardale Jones, Ohio State Buckeyes
Jordan Spieth, PGA

Best Championship Performance

American Pharoah, Race Horse
Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
Lauren Haeger, Florida Softball
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers (WINNER)

Best Female Athlete

Ronda Rousey, MMA (WINNER)
Breanna Stewart, UConn Basketball
Lindsey Vonn, Skiing
Serena Williams, WTA

Best Comeback Athlete

Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots (WINNER)
Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
Lindsey Vonn, Skiing

Best Play

Odell Beckham, Jr. catch (WINNER)

Best NBA Player

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors (WINNER)
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
James Harden, Houston Rockets
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

Best Upset

Georgia State over Baylor, NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament
Kansas City Royals wins AL Pennant
Mississippi over Alabama, FBS (WINNER)

Best Male Athlete

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors (WINNER)
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
JJ Watt, Houston Texans

Best NFL Player

Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (WINNER)
JJ Watt, Houston Texans

Best Fighter

Donald Cerrone, MMA
Terence Crawford, Boxing
Gennady Golovkin (GGG), Boxing
Floyd Mayweather Jr, Boxing
Ronda Rousey, MMA (WINNER)

Best Coach/Manager

Geno Auriemma, UConn Huskies
Bill Belichick, New England Patriots
Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors (WINNER)
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils
Urban Meyer, Ohio State Buckeyes

Best International Athlete

Novak Djokovic, ATP
Lewis Hamilton, Formula One
Lydia Ko, LPGA
Lionel Messi, Barcelona/Argentina (WINNER)
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid/Portugal

Best MLB Player

Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians
Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels (WINNER)

Best NHL Player

Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
John Tavares, New York Islanders
Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks (WINNER)

Best Driver

Erica Enders-Stevens, NHRA
Lewis Hamilton, Formula One
Kevin Harvick, NASCAR (WINNER)
Juan Pablo Montoya, IndyCar
Will Power, IndyCar

Best Male Golfer

Rory McIlroy
Jordan Spieth (WINNER)
Billy Horschel

Best Male Action Sports Athlete

Ryan Dungey, Motocross (WINNER)
Tucker Hibbert, SnoCross
Nyjah Huston, Skateboarding
Mark McMorris, Snowboarding
Josh Sheehan, Freestyle Motocross

Best Female Action Sports Athlete

Paige Alms, Surfing
Kelly Clark, Snowboarding (WINNER)
Stephanie Gilmore, Surfing
Laia Sanz, Enduro/motorbike

Best Jockey

Javier Castellano
Victor Espinoza (WINNER)
Joel Rosario
Best Bowler
Jason Belmonte (WINNER)
Parker Bohn III
Mike Fagan

Best MLS Player

Robbie Keane, Los Angeles Galaxy (WINNER)
Obafemi Martins, Seattle Sounders
Lee Nguyen, New England Revolution
Bradley Wright-Phillips, New York Red Bulls

Best Game

A’s vs. Royals, MLB AL Wild Card
Spurs vs. Clippers Game 7, NBA Western Conference Quarterfinals
Patriots vs. Seahawks, Super Bowl (WINNER)

Best WNBA Player

Skylar Diggins, Tulsa Shock (WINNER)
Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury
Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx
Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury

Best Female Golfer

Lydia Ko (WINNER)
Stacy Lewis
Inbee Park

Best Male Tennis Player

Marin Cilic
Novak Djokovic (WINNER)
Roger Federer
Stan Wawrinka

Best Female Tennis Player

Simona Halep
Petra Kvitova
Maria Sharapova
Serena Williams (WINNER)

Best Male College Athlete

Jack Eichel, Boston University Hockey
Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin Basketball
Marcus Mariota, Oregon Football (WINNER)
Logan Stieber, Ohio State Wrestling
Dansby Swanson, Vanderbilt Baseball

Best Female College Athlete

Taylor Cummings, Maryland Lacrosse
Missy Franklin, Cal Swimming (WINNER)
Lauren Haeger, Florida Softball
Micha Hancock, Penn State Volleyball
Breanna Stewart, Connecticut Basketball

Best Male Athlete with a Disability

Joe Berenyi, Cycling
Josh Pauls, Sled Hockey
Krige Schabort, Triathlon (WINNER)
Mike Shea, Snowboarding
Andy Soule, Nordic Skiing

Best Female Athlete with a Disability

Kendall Gretsch, Triathlon
Oksana Masters, Nordic Skiing
Tatyana McFadden, Track and Field
Becca Meyers, Swimming (WINNER)
Greta Neimanas, Cycling

SP