International sporting achievements of 2015 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jan: Novak Djokovic Apr: Spieth May: Floyd Mayweather Jul: Chile Jul: Lloyd Jul: Froome Aug: Usain Bolt Oct: Lewis Hamilton Oct: New Zealand Nov: Michelle Payne JAN 31 Australia beat South Korea in Sydney to win their first Asian Cup title FEB 1 Novak Djokovic wins Australian Open, followed by Wimbledon and U.S. Open, but is denied calendar Grand Slam after losing final at Roland Garros 1 Quarterback Tom Brady leads New England Patriots to Super Bowl glory 8 Cote d’Ivoire claim second African Cup of Nations title – beating Ghana 9-8 on penalties MAR 29 After six weeks of competition, Australia capture their fifth ODI Cricket World Cup, beating New Zealand APR 12 Jordan Spieth wins U.S. Masters, first of two consecutive majors for Texan, 21 MAY Chelsea claim Premier League glory – losing just three games all season - Barcelona secure La Liga, Juventus win Serie A and Bayern Munich storm Bundesliga 2 Floyd Mayweather wins “Fight of the century” against Manny Pacquiao JUN 6 American Pharoah becomes first horse to win U.S. Triple Crown since 1978 6 Barcelona capture their fifth European Cup with victory over Juventus in Berlin JUL 4 Host nation Chile defeat Argentina to win Copa America for first time 5 Carli Lloyd’s hat trick helps USA beat Japan to win Women’s World Cup in repeat of 2011 final 20 Zach Johnson clinches British Open in playoff at St. Andrews 29 Chris Froome claims his second Tour de France AUG Usain Bolt beats main rival Justin Gatlin to retain 100m and 200m world crowns 16 Jason Day hits record 20 under par to secure U.S. PGA Championship SEP 11 Serena Williams just falls short at U.S. Open after otherwise dominant season OCT 25 Lewis Hamilton clinches back-to-back F1 titles, his third crown overall 31 New Zealand retain Rugby World Cup with victory over rivals Australia NOV 3 Michelle Payne becomes first female jockey to win prestigious Melbourne Cup 8 Jorge Lorenzo claims third MotoGP title, ahead of team- mate Valentino Rossi 13 IAAF bans Russia from all track and field athletics amid doping scandal 28 Tyson Fury ends Wladimir Kiltschko’s nine year reign as world heavyweight champion 29 Great Britain, led by Andy Murray, secure first Davis Cup victory since 1936 DEC 1 Cristiano Ronaldo Lionel Messi and Neymar wait to find out who will win coveted Ballon d’Or in January ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Source: Wire agencies Pictures: Getty Images