Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune and Jack Draper in the running for two ATP Awards
Carlos Alcaraz has been nominated for the Most Improved Player of the Year award at the annual ATP Awards along with fellow young guns Holger Rune and Jack Draper.
It has been a year to remember for Alcaraz as he made history by becoming the youngest-ever world No 1 at the age of 19 years and 129 days after winning his maiden Grand Slam at the US Open in September. He is also the first teenager to finish as the year-end ATP No 1, having started the year at No 32.
Alcaraz also won his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open and followed it up with another Masters trophy at the Madrid Open while he also won two ATP 500 events.
The Spaniard is also up for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, which is handed to the player who conducted himself at the highest level of professionalism and integrity during the year – on and off court.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud and Frances Tiafoe are the other players up for the sportsmanship gong.
Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero has been nominated for the Coach of the Year award along with Frederic Fontang (Felix Auger-Aliassime), Goran Ivanisevic (Novak Djokovic), Michael Russell (Taylor Fritz) and Christian Ruud (Casper Ruud).
Rising Danish star Rune has also enjoyed a dream 2022 season as he surged 92 places in the rankings from 103 to 11 on the back of winning the Bavarian Championship, Sofia Open and Paris Masters.
The 19-year-old took out some big names – including Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime and 21-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic – en route to lifting his maiden Masters trophy in Paris.
British youngster Draper had an even bigger rise in the ATP Rankings as he was No 265 at the start of the year and now sits at No 42.
The 20-year-old started his season with four ATP Challenger Tour titles before reaching the quarter-final of the Canadian Open, beating the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Pablo Carreno Busta in Montreal, while he also upset Auger-Aliassime at the US Open.
Rune and Draper also feature among the nominees for the Newcomer of the Year award.
Maxime Cressy has also been nominated for the Most Improved Player of the Year award after climbing to a career-high No 31 on the back of winning the Hall of Fame Open and finishing runner-up at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 and Eastbourne International.
The Comeback Player of the Year award will be contested between Borna Coric, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka and Wu Yibing, who have all overcome serious injury and/or illness to return to the top.
ATP Awards nominees
Most Improved Player of the Year
Carlos Alcaraz
Maxime Cressy
Jack Draper
Holger Rune
Newcomer of the Year
Jack Draper
Jiri Lehecka
Ben Shelton
Chun-Hsin Tseng
Holger Rune
Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
Carlos Alcaraz
Felix Auger-Aliassime
Rafael Nadal
Casper Ruud
Frances Tiafoe
Comeback Player of the Year
Borna Coric
Dominic Thiem
Stan Wawrinka
Wu Yibing
Coach of the Year (Voted by coaches)
Juan Carlos Ferrero (Carlos Alcaraz)
Frederic Fontang (Felix Auger-Aliassime)
Goran Ivanisevic (Novak Djokovic)
Michael Russell (Taylor Fritz)
Christian Ruud (Casper Ruud)
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