Félix Auger-Aliassime, who distinguished himself on the biggest stages of men’s tennis in 2022, is the winner of the Lionel-Conacher prize, which crowns the male athlete of the year The Canadian Press.
He is the third tennis player in history to receive this award, which has been awarded annually since 1932, after Milos Raonic (2013 and 2014) and Denis Shapovalov (2017). In addition, he succeeds decathlon specialist Damian Warner, winner of the trophy in 2021.
Auger-Aliassime, 22, fell from 11th in the world at the start of 2022 to sixth at the end of the year, a personal career high. To do so, he had to win his first four career titles, including three in a row during an unstoppable 16 win streak in the fall — in Florence, Antwerp and Basel.
“It’s been a great year; I managed to accomplish all the goals I set for myself, and more. I had already performed well halfway through the year, but to finish the year at the Turin Masters, to win the Davis Cup… Everything, this year, I’m happy with my evolution as a person, and as a player. It’s been a great year, so to receive this award—recognition from the Canadian public and media—is quite an honour. It’s really nice, ”said Auger-Aliassime, after training on the sidelines of the World Tennis League in Dubai.
His conquest of the title in Rotterdam also allowed him to put an end to a series of eight losses in as many championship games in his career on the ATP circuit.
The six-foot-four, 194-pound player could have added more to his impressive 2022 crop, as he was also a runner-up at the Marseille tournament earlier this season and reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open for a third season in a row.
He also led the ATP Tour in hard court wins (45) and indoor wins (31) in 2022, beating the No.oh 1 in the world, Carlos Alcaraz, and the ex-nohs 1 Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal.
A first Davis Cup
The Quebecer has also left his mark in team competitions.
In addition to helping his teams win the ATP Cup and Laver Cup, he helped Canada win the Davis Cup for the first time in its history last month. At the same time, the country became the sixteenth in history to win top honors in the most prestigious competition in the world of team tennis.
Progress so meteoric that Tennis Canada chief performance officer Guillaume Marx said during his organization’s traditional year-end review this month that Auger-Aliassime “is on his way, I think, to win a Grand Slam title within the next two years.
“Félix absolutely deserves this prestigious title [le prix Lionel-Conacher]. […] He is an incredible tennis player, but also an extraordinary person. We are proud of his accomplishments this year and believe that his performances on and off the court will inspire future generations of Canadian tennis players,” added the President and CEO of Tennis Canada, Michael Downey.
Auger-Aliassime thus received 20 of the 48 votes in the ballot conducted among the directors, journalists and sports commentators of the country. And for them, obtaining the Lionel-Conacher prize left no doubt.
“Never before has a Canadian tennis player had a year like the one Auger-Aliassime just finished. It was dominant at the end of the year, ”said the editorial and new media director of theNew AcadiaGaetan Chiasson.
“Félix’s rise in the world of professional tennis in recent months has never been matched by any other Canadian before,” added the head of the sports section of the Toronto SunPaul Ferguson.
Bayern Munich star soccer player Alphonso Davies, who also famously became Canada’s all-time top scorer at the World Cup earlier this month, finished second in the polls with 10 votes, followed by Colorado Avalanche star defenseman and member of the last Stanley Cup champion Cale Makar, with 7.
Auger-Aliassime’s choice allows Quebec to raid the individual honors awarded by The Canadian Press. On Wednesday, Team Canada captain, hockey player Marie-Philip Poulin, won the award for Canada’s Most Outstanding Female Athlete.
The team of the year will be announced on Friday.