TORONTO – Milos Raonic entered uncharted territory for a Canadian men’s tennis player this year, reaching the top 10 in the world singles rankings and leading the Davis Cup team to unprecedented heights.
He also won two tournaments in 2013 and thrilled Canadian fans by reaching the final of the Rogers Cup last summer. He capped his impressive year Thursday by winning the Lionel Conacher Award as the 2013 Canadian Press male athlete of the year.
Raonic made some big strides this year despite going through some early-season struggles and a coaching change.
“The fact that I was performing under those circumstances when things weren’t the best leading into those events, it’s really great for me,” he said. “It’s what I’m most proud of.”
The Conacher award is named after the multi-sport athlete who was chosen Canada’s athlete of the first half-century. The winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada’s female athlete of the year will be announced Friday and the team of the year will be named Saturday.
Raonic finished with 45 per cent of the vote in balloting of sports editors and broadcasters across the country. Calgary Stampeders running back Jon Cornish was well back at 22 per cent, followed by golfer Graham DeLaet (13 per cent) and figure skater Patrick Chan (eight per cent).
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“Raonic had the most successful year in the history of Canadian tennis and his outstanding performance in the Davis Cup played a leading role in the country’s semifinal appearance,” said Yahoo Canada’s Steve McAllister. “Raonic’s climb up the ATP Tour rankings happens in an era that features more depth than ever before.”
Raonic finished second in last year’s voting behind cyclist Ryder Hesjedal. He’s the first men’s tennis player to win the award, which dates back to 1932.
“To have them vote (for) me and tell my story back home and being so positive about it, it’s really great to see,” Raonic said when reached after a training session in Monte Carlo. “To (be) recognized through an award like this means a lot to me.”
A number of women’s tennis players have won the Rosenfeld Award over the years. Aleksandra Wozniak was the last to do so, taking the honour in 2009.
Raonic won indoor hardcourt tournaments in Bangkok and San Jose and finished with a 45-21 singles record this season, picking up more than US$1.72 million in prize money along the way.
Known for his booming serve, the six-foot-five Raonic showed improvement in other facets of his game in 2013. His ground strokes, backhand and net play were stronger and that helped him to some big victories.
Raonic was ranked 15th at the start of the year and hovered in the teens for most of the season. He rose to a career-high No. 10 in early August before falling to No. 11, where he has remained since.
He won the San Jose title for the third straight year last February after beating Tommy Haas in the final. Raonic also helped the Davis Cup team to wins over Spain and Italy as he endured a stretch of middling results on tour.
The Canadian’s power game has always been most effective on hardcourts but Raonic enjoyed some success on clay this season as well, reaching the semifinals at Barcelona in April before falling to Rafael Nadal. However, he struggled on the grass courts and made a second-round exit at Wimbledon.
Raonic managed an injury-free season for the first time since joining the tour and was able to fight through that early-season inconsistency.
“I learned for the first time in the first three years of my career how to deal with the tough moments,” he said. “Not any moments disrupte
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