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World No. 11 Felix Auger-Aliassime has been announced as the winner of Tennis Canada's 2021 Excellence Award for Male Player of the Year. This marks Auger-Aliassime's first time winning the award, taking over from Milos Raonic, who the won the award for 2020.
In addition to being the male player of the year, the Canadian was also the recipient of two more Excellence Awards. He was crowned the Male Singles Player of the Year and Most Improved Male Player of the Year.
While the Canadian won Male Singles Player of the Year for the first time in his career, he previously won the Most Improved Player Award in 2019.
"With his first Grand Slam QF followed immediately by his first SF and a year-end ranking of World No. 11, @felixtennis is our Tennis Canada Male Player of the Year!" Tennis Canada wrote on Twitter.
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Michael Downey, the president and CEO of Tennis Canada, lavished praise on his countryman during the announcement. He commended the 21-year-old for managing to perform admirably in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Downey said:
"In the challenging conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, he found a way to stand out and deliver exceptional performances. Félix—the first Canadian to reach the men’s semifinal of the US Open—pursued his meteoric ascent, rising to a career-high World No. 10."
Felix Auger-Aliassime became the first Canadian player to reach the semifinals of the men's singles at the US Open following Carlos Alcaraz's retirement in their quarterfinals earlier this year. However, he fell in straight sets to eventual winner Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals.
A summary of Felix Auger-Aliassime's historic 2021
In addition to his Flushing Meadows run that lifted him to the top 10 for the first time in his career, Felix Auger-Aliassime also made it into the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Championships.
He became the fifth Canadian man to enter the last eight at Wimbledon, but was ousted by runner-up Matteo Berrettini in four sets. Auger-Aliassime also made the fourth round at the Australian Open before losing to Aslan Karatsev in a gripping five-setter.
2021 marked Felix Auger-Aliassime's most successful year on the ATP circuit as he won two titles and became the first Canadian to reach the top 10. Starting the year at World No. 21, he closed it as the World No. 11 and as the highest-ranked Canadian male player.
His most notable wins this year came against former World No. 1 Roger Federer at the Halle Open and World No. 3 Alexander Zverev at Wimbledon. Auger-Aliassime also defeated World No. 9 Hubert Hurkacz in Halle and World No. 13 Diego Schwartzman at the Rome Masters.
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