Ubitennis reflects on what has been an intriguing year in the world of men’s tennis where the year-end No.1 is a 19-year-old rising star from Spain.
The best player of the year:
Carlos Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open by beating Casper Ruud in the final last September. He has also won two Masters 1000 titles in Miami and Madrid, as well as two ATP 500 tournaments in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona. He finished runner-up in two finals in Hamburg and Umag but was forced to miss the Nitto ATP Finals due to a muscle tear in his abdominal wall.
Alcaraz is the first player outside the Big Four of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray to finish the year at world number 1 since Andy Roddick in 2003.
Alcaraz is also the first teenager in history to earn the year-end ATP Number 1 award. 36-year-old Rafael Nadal is the oldest number 2. It is the first time since 1996 that two players from the same country have finished number 1 and number 2. US stars Pete Sampras and Michael Chang were the last players to achieve this feat.
Carlos Alcaraz: “It means a lot to me. It is an amazing feeling to get the year-end ATP Number 1 award and to be part of history along with a lot of legends”.
The ATP Finals champion: Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic won five ATP titles in 2022 at Wimbledon, the Rome Masters, Astana, Tel Aviv and the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The Serbian star won a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Danil Medvedev in the round-robin, Taylor Fritz in the semifinal and Casper Ruud in the final.
Djokovic has become the oldest champion in the ATP Tour Finals history, as he is five years older than the previous oldest NITTO ATP Finals champion Roger Federer in 2011. Djokovic has won the ATP Finals in three different cities, as he had previously won titles in Shanghai in 2008, and in London in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. He has lifted the trophy at the end-of-season tournament in three different decades.
Djokovic finished in the top 5 for the 15th time in the past 16 years. He was ranked number 1 for 20 weeks during the season, bringing his record total at the top of the ATP Ranking to 373 weeks.
Novak Djokovic: “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that what I hold in my mind is still a huge hunger to win trophies. I want to make history in this sport, compete on the highest level all around the world, and bring good emotions to sports fans, tennis fans. That’s what drives me a lot”
At Wimbledon Djokovic reached a record 32nd Grand Slam final with his win in the semifinal against Cameron Norrie and went on to beat Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in the final. He won his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title and now has a total of 21 Grand Slam titles, breaking his tie of 20 Major Trophies with Roger Federer.
“I am lost for words for what this tournament and this trophy mean to me. It always has been and will be the most special one in my heart. It motivated me to play when I was a child in my small mountain resort and I saw Pete Sampras; I asked my mum for a racquet. It was my first image of tennis. Every single time it gets more meaningful and I am blessed to be standing here with the trophy”.
Djokovic following his Wimbledon win
The Grand Slam star
Rafael Nadal
Nadal won his second Australian Open title on the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and the 21st Grand Slam title of his career by beating Danil Medvedev 2-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4 7-5 in five sets, after coming back from two sets down. Nadal moved past Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer for the most men’s Grand Slam titles of all time, becoming the second player after Djokovic in the Open Era to win each of the four Grand Slam titles at least twice.
Rafael Nadal on his Australian Open triumph: “It is one of the most emotional matches of my career. To share the court with Danil was just an honour. It is amazing. To be honest, one and a half months before the Australian Open, I was not sure if I was able to be back on the Tour again”
At the French Open, he beat Casper Ruud in three sets to win the 14th Roland Garros title of his career and his 22nd Grand Slam Trophy overall. Nadal became the oldest Roland Garros champion ever, and the third player in history to earn four top-10 wins en route to a Grand Slam title since the ATP Rankings started in 1973 after Mats Wilander at 1982 French Open and Roger Federer at the 2017 Australian Open.
“For me personally, it is very difficult to describe the feelings that I have. It is something that I have never believed: to be here at 36, being competitive again on the most important court of my career. One more title means a lot. It means a lot of energy to try and keep going.” He said in Paris.
2022 was the first time Nadal won both the Australian Open and Roland Garros titles in the same season.
The Most Improved players of the year
Holger Rune
Holger Rune began his season ranked world number 103 and climbed to a career-high world number 10 at the end of the year. Rune clinched his first Masters 1000 title in Paris after beating Novak Djokovic in the final. The Danish 19-year-old Next Gen star is the third youngest active player to break the top 10 in the ATP Rankings. Only Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz achieved this goal at a younger age. During the 2022 season, Rune won two ATP 250 titles in Munich and Stockholm. He also finished runner-up to Felix Auger Aliassime in the Swiss Indoor in Basel and to Marc Andrea Huesler at the Sofia Open.
Rune and Alcaraz played in the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan in 2021. One year later Alcaraz ended the season as the world number 1. Rune cracked the top 10 and was the first alternate at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
Holger Rune on his Paris breakthrough: “I am super happy how I officially ended my season. It’s quite incredible. To win the trophy in Paris is an amazing feeling. Starting the week in Paris by saving three match points in my opening match against Stan Wawrinka and being able to lift this beautiful trophy, was tough to expect. It was very emotional after the match. It’s probably the best feeling of my life, of my whole career. It’s kind of a small dream come true, even though I have bigger dreams. It’s a really good step on the way to play these kinds of matches against one of the greatest players like Novak. To be able to win that last game was the biggest relief of my life”.
Lorenzo Musetti
Lorenzo Musetti showed his potential in 2021 reaching two ATP Tour semifinals in Acapulco and Lyon. The Italian 20-year-old player continued his progress reaching his career-high number 23 in the ATP Rankings.
Musetti advanced to the quarter-finals in Rotterdam, as well as the third round at the Masters 1000 tournaments in Monte-Carlo and Madrid before winning a Challenger Tour title in Forlì. He went on to win his first ATP title in Hamburg by defeating Alcaraz in the final after saving match points in his opening match against Dusan Lajovic.
During the autumn indoor season, Musetti reached the semifinal in Florence before losing to eventual champion Felix Auger-Aliassime. Musetti beat his compatriot Matteo Berrettini in the all-Italian final of the hard-court tournament in Naples and beat Casper Ruud to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final in Paris Bercy.
Lorenzo Musetti: “I had the perfect week in Naples. I did not drop a set so I am really happy about that and about the game I showed. Sometimes I have to work hard to bring success and consistency in my game, so I am really proud of myself and my team”.
The Newcomers of the year
Brandon Nakashima
21-year-old Brandon Nakashima beat Jiri Lehecka 4-3 (7-5) 4-3 (8-6) 4-2 to win the championship match at the Intesa San Paolo Next Gen Finals. Nakashima has become the first US player to win this tournament.
The former world number 3 junior player achieved his career-high world number 43 in October 2022 and is currently ranked world number 47. The US player of Asian origin lost to Alexander Zverev in the third round at Roland Garros.
Nakashima beat Denis Shapovalov to reach the fourth round for the first time in his career in a Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon before losing to Nick Kyrgios in a tight five-set match. Last September Nakashima beat Grigor Dimitrov in the US Open second round before losing to Jannik Sinner in the third round.
Last September Nakashima reached the third ATP Tour final of his career and beat his compatriot Marcos Giron to win his maiden title in San Diego.
Brandon Nakashima: “Being American and being able to play in Milan (at the Next Gen Finals) is the best feeling in the world. I am taking the title to the United States. My team means everything to me. Together we have had such a great year, working well together. I am happy with where we are at right now and we are enjoying this title”.
Jack Draper
Jack Draper started the 2022 season at world number 265 with just two tour-level wins. The 20-year-old British player has broken into the top 50, reaching world number 41 after 21 tour-level wins this year. Draper missed the second half of the 2021 season due to a ruptured ligament in his ankle, but he came back in good shape winning ATP Challenger tournaments in Forlì and St. Brieuc. He has won main draw Masters 1000 matches against Gilles Simon in Miami and Lorenzo Sonego in Madrid.
During the summer season, Draper reached his first ATP Tour semifinal in Eastbourne as a wild card before losing to Maxime Cressy. Draper earned the first top-10 win of his career against world number 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to reaching the quarter-final at the Montreal Masters 1000 as a qualifier. He also beat Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the US Open third round.
The comeback of the year:
Borna Coric
At the Cincinnati Masters Coric beat Nadal in the second round, Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round, Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-final and Cameron Norrie in the semifinal before winning the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 to win the title, becoming the lowest-ranked champion in Masters 1000 series history. Coric improved to 2-1 in his head-to-head series against Tsitsipas. As a result, he climbed to world number 29 in the ATP Ranking.
Borna Coric: “It was a very tough match against Tsitsipas. At the beginning, I was not playing well and he was pushing me very hard, but I started to serve better and play better and I was fighting hard. Then in the second set, I thought I played the best set of the year. Thank you to my parents, my sister and my team. It has been very tough for us. If I did not have my physio, I would not be on the court. Then of course thanks to my coach Mate. We have been working very hard”.
Coric continued his good period of form by beating Thanasi Kokkinakis and Brandon Nakashima in straight sets to reach the quarter-final in Tokyo. During the European indoor season, the Croatian player reached his second quarter-final of the season in Vienna. He beat Hubert Hurkacz in three sets in the quarter-finals to reach the semifinals, where he lost to Denis Shapovalov.
Coric missed the majority of the 2021 season due to a shoulder injury and entered the main draw in Cincinnati with a protected ranking. He was ranked world number 152 in the ATP Rankings at that time.
Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem fell out of the top 300 last June after losing to Hugo Dellien at Roland Garros, but he returned to good form last autumn when he reached the semifinals at the 2022 European Open in Antwerp after beating Hubert Hurkacz before losing to Sebastian Korda in three sets. The Austrian player then beat Tommy Paul in a tight three-set match with two tie-breaks after saving two match points at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna before losing to eventual champion Danil Medvedev in straight sets. Thiem returned to the top 100 at the end of October.
The best doubles teams
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury beat Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to win the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin after remaining undefeated during the whole week. Salisbury is the first British player in history to win the ATP Finals doubles title and Ram has become the 18th US player to clinch this title.
The US-British team also won the US Open title and two Masters 1000 tournaments in Monte-Carlo and Cincinnati. They defended their title at the US Open by beating Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in the final, winning the third title of their career as a team. They became the second team to win two consecutive titles at this Grand Slam after Todd Woodbridge and Todd Woodforde.
ATP number 1 doubles team: Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski
Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski were crowned ATP Doubles Number 1. The Dutch-British team won three Masters 1000 titles in Madrid, Montreal and Paris. They also won four ATP 250 tournaments in Melbourne, Adelaide, Doha and s Hertogenbosch. The duo also lost to Ram and Salisbury in the US Open final and reached the semifinals at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
Neal Skupski: “It’s incredible. We only came together in January. One of our goals was just to make the Nitto ATP Finals. We have come in and won seven titles this year. This is a dream come true, to end the year world number 1”.
The Davis Cup best team of the year
Canada won the Davis Cup for the first time in the 123-year history of this tournament by crushing Australia 2-0 in the Final in Malaga. Felix Auger-Aliassime was the best player in the Davis Cup finals. The World Number 6 player won his singles and doubles matches in the semifinal against Italy to secure the Canadian team a spot in the final. He went on to win his singles match against Alex De Minaur 6-3 6-4 in the final. In his three matches played during the Davis Cup Finals week in Malaga Auger-Aliassime saved all eleven break points he faced, including the eight chances against De Minaur in the championship match.
Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov led Canada to triumph in the Junior Davis Cup in 2015. The North American team reached the title match for the first time in Madrid in 2019, when Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov were beaten by Roberto Bautista and Rafael Nadal respectively.
Auger-Aliassime ended the best season of his career with four ATP Tour titles in Rotterdam, Florence, Antwerp and Basel and helped Canada win the ATP Cup Trophy.
Felix Auger Aliassime: “The emotions are tough to describe. Denis Shapovalov and I grew up together, dreaming of these types of stages, dreaming of winning the Davis Cup. It’s a great moment for myself and my country”.
Shapovalov was also impressive in the Davis Cup Finals. He beat Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-2 6-4 with four breaks of serve in a one-sided match. Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil played a very important role in the Canadian triumph with their 2-6 6-3 6-3 win over Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz in the decisive doubles match in the quarter-final.
Denis Shapovalov: “Obviously the doubles win with Vasek in the quarter-finals against Germany was massive. Against an undefeated Davis Cup team, coming back from a set down, we just completely lit it up. It was crazy. We didn’t miss a ball for a while. It was like an out-of-body experience”.
A Canadian team without Auger Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov lost to the Netherlands 0-4 in the qualifying match last February, but the North-American team has been chosen as a replacement wild-card entry for the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals due to the ban of the Russian team following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Canada received the highest-ranked losing nation at this year’s qualifiers.
The best matches of the year:
Carlos Alcaraz beats Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-7 (7-9) 6-7 (0-7) 7-5 6-3
Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner in a five-hour and 15-minute marathon quarter-final match at the US Open. The match finished at 2.50 am local time, the latest-ever finish at the US Open, beating the previous record of 2.26 am.
Alcaraz recovered from a break down in the fourth and fifth sets, and saved a match point in the fourth set. Alcaraz, who lost to Sinner twice in their previous head-to-head matches in the past three months at Wimbledon and Umag, levelled to 2-2 in their four career clashes.
Alcaraz earned three set points in the second set, but Sinner held serve after Alcaraz won a point by producing a behind-the-back shot. Sinner saved another set point in the tie-break before clinching the tie-break 9-7 to level the match.
Both players traded breaks twice in the third set to set up a second tie-break, which Sinner won without dropping a set.
Sinner broke serve at the start of the fourth set. The Italian star was not able to close out the win from 5-3 up and missed a match point. Alcaraz broke twice to seal the fourth set 7-5. Sinner broke to take a 3-2 lead in the fifth set, but Alcaraz broke straight back. The Spaniard broke again after another error from Sinner and served out to seal a hard-fought win securing a spot in his first Grand Slam semifinal.
Carlos Alcaraz: “I still don’t know how I did it. You have to believe in yourself. I believed in myself. It was really difficult to close out the match. I tried to stay calm, but it is difficult in the moment”.
Nadal beats Medvedev 2-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4 7-5
Rafael Nadal came back from two sets and 2-3 0-40 down to beat Danil Medvedev 2-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4 7-5 in a marathon match after 5 hours and 24 minutes securing a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title in the final of the Australian Open on Rod Laver Arena. Nadal broke five times across the third, fourth and fifth sets. Nadal broke Medvedev in the fifth game of the fifth set and served for the win at 5-4 before wasting his opportunity and dropping his serve. He recovered to break Medvedev in the 11th game and held serve for the win in the 12th game. Nadal won a best-of-five match after dropping the first two sets for the first time since the fourth round in Wimbledon in 2007.
Nadal did not convert his first opportunity to serve out the match, but he sealed the win for the second time of asking.
Rafael Nadal: “At the end history is about the victory, but the way that you win the match in terms of personal feelings is different. The way that I achieved this trophy was just unforgettable. It was one of the most emotional matches of my tennis career. It means a lot to me”.
