Canada’s Raonic named ATP Tour’s Newcomer of the Year for strong rookie season

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LONDON – Milos Raonic’s impressive season was lauded by his peers Saturday.

The Canadian was named the 2011 ATP World Tour’s Newcomer of the Year as part of the tennis tour’s annual awards.

Players vote for the award, which is given to the player who, based on his ranking moves, has made the biggest impact on the ATP World Tour.

Raonic began the season ranked No. 156 in the world and reached a career-high ranking of No. 25 in May. That rating made Raonic the highest-ranked singles player in Canadian history.

The 20-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., captured his first singles title in February at San Jose and reached the final in Memphis a week later.

Meanwhile, Roger Federer picked up two honours at the end of his first season without a Grand Slam since 2002.

Federer was voted the fans’ favourite for the ninth straight year and won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, voted for by players, for a seventh time in eight years.

Novak Djokovic receives the No. 1 award for ending the season as the top-ranked player, while Rafael Nadal will be given the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award for his charity work with the Rafa Nadal Foundation.

Alex Bogomolov Jr. was voted the most improved player.

Raonic’s season was hampered by a hip injury at Wimbledon in June. The Canadian quickly recovered from surgery to reach two more semifinals and one quarter-final in his first full season on tour.

The award announcement was made in London, where the ATP World Tour Finals begin Sunday.

Past winners of the ATP’s Newcomer of the Year award include Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Andy Roddick, Patrick Rafter and John McEnroe.

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