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World No. 11 Felix Auger-Aliassime has been named as the Canada's Male Tennis Player of the Year. Auger-Aliassime claimed two more awards as Tennis Canada also named him as the Most Improved Male Player of the Year and Male Singles Player of the Year.
Auger-Aliassime, 21, didn't win his maiden ATP title this year but he made his maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open and made his top-10 debut. "Felix, Denis and Jaden had excellent seasons, and we are very pleased to honour them today,” said Michael Downey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tennis Canada.
“In the challenging conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, all three found ways to stand out and deliver exceptional performances. Felix—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.
Denis was the first player since Milos Raonic to reach for the semifinals of Wimbledon before falling to World No.1 Novak Djokovic."
Auger-Aliassime improved since hiring Toni Nadal
Auger-Aliassime added Uncle Toni to his coaching staff earlier this year and since then his game has improved.
"Yeah, it was good I mean. Through conversations, through work on court, I think I've been able to just learn and just kind of take a lot of information from Toni and then cross it and see what I can take from that, learn from that.
So just him being there, being present is a huge source of motivation and more than anything, a source of confidence and trust," Auger-Aliassime said on The Match Point Canada podcast. Auger-Aliassime played confident in 2021 and he credited coach Nadal for that.
"I think to summarize what Toni has brought this year, then he's brought a lot of confidence in the team, that we're on the right track, he's brought confidence that making the semifinals of Grand Slams are challenging but it's something that's doable, something of a normality than something that's extraordinary. He's just brought a lot of confidence to myself and my team," Auger-Aliassime explained.
