There is an argument to be made for Roger Federer, after a season in which he won his 16th grand slam title and was then crowded out as world No 1 by Rafael Nadal, but let us instead go for Esther Vergeer.

It was a pity that Vergeer had to pose naked in her wheelchair on the cover of an American magazine for the wider sporting world to take notice of her tennis talent. On the way to winning a tournament in Amsterdam last month, the former Dutch wheelchair basketball player took her undefeated streak to 400 singles matches. Vergeer, who lost the use of her legs when she was eight, said: “I want recognition for what I am doing as an athlete — I don’t want anyone’s pity.”

Contest of the year: Isner and Mahut

A cult has built up around John Isner’s first-round victory over Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon which ignores the reality that much of the tennis they played over 11 hours was, frankly, rather tiresome.