“I managed to achieve all the goals I set for myself and more,” Auger-Aliassime said from Dubai. “I had already performed well in the middle of the year, but to finish the year at the Masters in Turin, to win the Davis Cup… I’m happy with my evolution as a person and as a player.”
Auger-Aliassime received 20 of 48 ballot votes from sportswriters and broadcasters across the country.
Footballer Alphonso Davies, who played with Bayern Munich and helped the Canadian team reach the World Cup, finished second with 10 votes. Hockey player Cale Makar, a star defenseman for the Stanley Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche, finished third with seven votes.
“It’s been a great year, so receiving this award — recognition from the Canadian public and media — is quite an honour,” Auger-Aliassime said. “That’s really nice.”
Auger-Aliassime lost his last eight appearances on the ATP Tour before finally breaking through with a title last February in Rotterdam. The six-foot-four, 194-pound right-hander was also a runner-up in Marseille and reached the Australian Open quarter-finals for a third consecutive season.
Tennis Canada performance director Guillaume Marx said this month that Auger-Aliassime “is on course, I think, to win a Grand Slam title within two years.”
Along with last month’s Davis Cup title, Auger-Aliassime has also helped his teams win the ATP Cup and Laver Cup this season.
“Felix is an incredible tennis player, but also a great person,” said Tennis Canada President Michael Downey. “We are proud of his accomplishments this year and know that his performances on and off the court will have inspired the next generation of tennis players in Canada.”
Auger-Aliassime also led the ATP Tour in hardcourt (45) and indoor (31) wins in 2022.
“Never has a Canadian tennis player had a year like the one Auger-Aliassime just finished. It was dominant at the end of the year,” says Gaétan Chiasson, editorial and new media director at Acadie Nouvelle.
Auger-Aliassime has beaten world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz this season and also picked up victories over Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, all former top-ranked players.
“Felix’s rise in the world of tennis over the past few months has never been seen by a Canadian before,” said Paul Ferguson, sports editor at the Toronto Sun.
Hockey player Marie-Philip Poulin was named female athlete of the year by The Canadian Press on Wednesday. The winning team of the year will be announced on Friday.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on December 29, 2022.
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Alexandre Geoffrion-McInnis, The Canadian Press
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