World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero have received a total of three nominations at the 2022 ATP Awards, as the nominees for the four player-voted categories and for Coach of the Year were revealed. Alcaraz and Ferrero are up for the Most Improved Player and Coach of the Year awards, respectively, for the second consecutive season.
Alcaraz, already recognized as the ATP No. 1 presented by Pepperstone, is also nominated for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the first time, alongside Felix Auger-Aliassime, five-time winner Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud and Frances Tiafoe.
Alcaraz shares the bill with two other young figures, Jack Draper and Holger Rune, as well as the American Maxime Cressy for the Most Improved Player of the Year award. Draper (20) and Rune (19) are also among the five nominees for Breakthrough of the Year, which includes #NextGenATP players who have broken the Top 100 for the first time in 2022.
The nominees for Comeback Player of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year and Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award are determined by ITWA votes. The Coach of the Year nominees are chosen through a vote conducted by ATP coaches.
The winners at the ATP Awards, including the Fans’ Favorite, will be announced during Awards week from 12 December. Fans can vote for their favorite individual players and couples until Friday, December 2. Check out the full list of ATP Awards 2022 nominees: VOTED BY PLAYERS Comeback Player of the Year: The player who has overcome serious injury and re-established himself as one of the greatest players on the ATP Tour.
Lapentti reflects on Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz still has a long way to go before he can be considered a real challenger to the Grand Slam record of the Big 3. “The big question is will he (Carlos Alcaraz) be able to win as many Grand Slams as these three guys (Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic)? It’s going to be all about his health,” Nicolas Lapentti said.
“Is he going to be able to stay healthy the next 15-18 years? We never know. Will he be able to stay strong mentally for the next 15 years? It’s crazy, but we’ll see. We’ll have to talk again in 10 years and see how he’s going,” he added.
“Alcaraz has got everything, definitely. To be 19 and to play at the level he’s playing. It’s mostly in the head to play under that pressure and to perform that well, that’s awesome,” the 46-year-old expressed.
