Australian Open winner Gustavo Fernandez has scooped the Americas Paralympic Committee Athlete of the month award ©Getty Images

Argentina's Gustavo Fernandez has won the Americas Athlete of the Month honour by a landslide after a highly successful January.

The wheelchair tennis player triumphed in the men’s singles competition at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of 2017.

Fernandez, who carried his country’s flag at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, triumphed in the final by overcoming France's Nicolas Peifer in three sets.

The world number four also finished as a runner-up in the doubles alongside Britain's Alife Hewett.

His second Grand Slam title, after last year’s French Open, came after Fernandez had also won singles and doubles titles at the Melbourne Open.

The Argentine was nominated for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC’s) Athlete of the Month award but ended third behind Dutch Para-Alpine skier Jeroen Kampschreur and Nordic skier Oleksandra Kononova of Ukraine.

Andrew Kurka was the runner-up in the Americas Paralympic Committee poll ©Getty Images
Andrew Kurka was the runner-up in the Americas Paralympic Committee poll ©Getty Images

Fernandez, though, did do enough to scoop the Americas Paralympic Committee honour after receiving a huge 96 per cent of the public vote in a poll on their website.

American Alpine skier Andrew Kurka was the runner-up having polled three per cent of the vote.

He won his first gold medal ever at a World Championships in the men’s downhill sitting in Tarvisio, Italy, during January.

Canada’s Alpine skier Mac Marcoux, who won four golds and one silver medal at the Championships, trailed in third place.