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Mauresmo joins Federer atop TR readers poll

Ivanovic, Safin still sexiest

The votes are in and have been tabulated. In the 2006 TennisReporters.net readers' poll, No. 1 Roger Federer was the overwhelming choice for men's Player of the Year, while France's Amelie Mauresmo, who won two Slams in 2006, beat out yearend No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne by a substantial margin in the women's category.

Russian teen Anna Chakvetadze stormed to the Newcomer of the Year accolade, winning 78 percent of the vote ahead of Aravene Rezai of France. German Benjamin Becker, a former collegiate star at Baylor, was named the men's Newcomer of the Year in front of US teen Sam Querrey.

American James Blake was tabbed as the men's Most Improved Player ahead of Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus. On the women's side, Jelena Jankovic was the pick, garnering 64 percent of the vote ahead of Nadia Petrova's 19 percent.

It came as no surprise to see the legendary and wildly popular Andre Agassi win Veteran of the Year, but his 75 percent showing over Top-5 player Ivan Ljubicic (14 percent) did give some room for pause. Martina Hingis won in a cakewalk for women's Veteran of the Year, grabbing 90 percent of the vote. Francesca Schiavone was the runner-up with 5 percent.

Match of the Year on the men's side went to Italian Open men's final between Federer and Rafael Nadal. Fans tabbed the Wimbledon final between Mauresmo and Henin-Hardenne as the women's Match of the Year.

For the second straight year, Serbia's Ana Ivanovic and Russia's Marat Safin came out on top in the Sexiest Player categories. In a close contest, the brunette Ivanovic (31 percent) beat out two blonde Russians, Maria Sharapova (24 percent) and Maria Kirilenko (22 percent).

While Safin only managed to nail down 28 percent of the vote, he still edged Nadal (15.7 percent) and Blake (15.7 percent), with Feliciano Lopez (14 percent), Andy Roddick (11 percent) and Federer (10 percent) also making strong showings.

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