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Danish tennis professional Holger Rune congratulated World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz after the teenager bagged the "Most Improved Player of the Year" by beating him at the ongoing ATP Awards.
Voted by fellow players, the 19-year-old beat the likes of Maxime Cressy, Jack Draper, and Rune to win the award. Alcaraz won the title after being nominated for the second consecutive year.
Rune himself was considered a favorite to win the honor, given that he won his maiden Masters 1000 title in 2022 at the Paris Masters and finished the year as World No. 11. Instead, the Dane took home another award, receiving the honor of this season's "Newcomer of the Year."
Holger Rune turned to Twitter to react to Alcaraz's win and congratulated the Spaniard.
"So deserved man. Big congrats," Rune wrote on Twitter.
The 2022 US Open champion rose to the zenith of his career in June after he secured the top spot in the ATP rankings, a feat he achieved after beating French Open finalist Casper Ruud in the final. At the age of just 19 years and 214 days, Alcaraz moved past Australia's Lleyton Hewitt (20 years and 275 days) to become the youngest ever ATP World No. 1.
Carlos Alcaraz has won five singles titles this season, including his maiden Grand Slam title. He is also the first player outside of the Big 4 — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray — since Andy Roddick in 2003 to achieve the year-end No. 1 ranking.
This is also the first time since Nadal in 2005, that an ATP player has won the "Most Improved Player of the Year" after winning a Grand Slam singles title the same season.
"A dream year for me" - Carlos Alcaraz
After receiving the honor, Carlos Alcaraz thanked all of his colleagues for rooting for him in this category. He also hoped for an improved performance in 2023.
"I’m really happy to receive this award, and I want to say thank you to all my colleagues who voted me as the Most Improved Player of the Year," said Carlos Alcaraz. "For me it’s an amazing achievement. This year has been a really good year for me, a dream year for me, and I’m looking to improve the year in 2023, so thank you very much and see you very soon."
How will Alcaraz perform next year? Do you see him winning more Grand Slams? Let us know in the comments.
