By Scoop Malinowski
Upset of the Year: Brandon Holt, ranked 303, had never won an ATP main tour match in his life but he managed to defeat ATP world no. 12 and darkhorse US Open contender Taylor Fritz in four sets at US Open. 24 year old Holt finished the year ranked 220. He lost first round in his next two tournaments after US Open and only won three more matches after beating Fritz.
Most Improved Player 2022: Little known 20 year old American Ben Shelton was ranked 547 to start 2022 and ended up winning three ATP Challengers in a row to finish the year ranked 97.
Todd Martin Sportsmanship Award: There are so many worthy examples of excellent sportsmanship in pro tennis it’s simply impossible to give the award to just one player: Therefore, I’m awarding the following players with Sportsmanship honors: Casper Ruud, Feliciano Lopez, Hubert Hurkacz, Felix Auger Aliassime, John Isner, Filip Krajinovic, Marin Cilic, Borna Coric, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta, Rajeev Ram, Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson, Yoshihito Nishioka, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet, Karen Khachanov, Diego Schwartzman, Cam Norrie, Grigor Dimitrov, Jannik Sinner, Sebastian Korda, Brandon Nakashima, David Goffin, Soonwoo Kwon, and Carlos Alcaraz.
Thomas Muster Comeback Player of Year: Novak Djokovic overcome more than any tennis player in history this year – media attacks, political discrimination, backstabbing, stolen ranking points… all because he declined to inject himself with drugs that have proven to be a failure.
Marcelo Rios Bad Boy Award: Because pro tennis needs healthy controversial figures to contrast all the good guys, I have created a special award for a tennis villain. Corentin Moutet was kicked out by the French Tennis Federation for bad behavior and he also managed to have a physical altercation on court after a match with Adrian Andreev.
Guillermo Vilas Best Interview: Fortunately there are a lot of excellent players to interview, who combine intelligence, thoughtfulness and ability to share interesting revelations, which make the sport more interesting for fans and media. Awards go to Tennys Sandgren, Novak Djokovic, Tommy Paul, Max Purcell, Borna Coric, Maxime Cressy.
Bjorn Borg Most Popular Player: Again, there are many very popular players because of personality, charisma, play style, authenticity. Awards go to Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin Del Potro, Grigor Dimitrov, Andy Murray, Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger Aliassime, Gael Monfils.
Stay tuned for WTA awards later this week…
ATP · Ben Shelton · Brandon Holt · Novak Djokovi
Steve · November 30, 2022 at 8:52 am
Very nice lists…my 2 cents, perhaps an honorable mention for Frank Dancevic for his successful rebirth and debut as a Davis Cup captain.
He was a fine player in his day.
Scoop Malinowski · November 30, 2022 at 9:17 am
Steve, Yes Dancevic deserves some recognition, he was also the all time best tennis Biofile interview… https://www.tennis-prose.com/articles/frank-dancevic-biofile/