The first two months of 2011 represented a significant breakthrough for Raonic, as he rose from No.
156 at the beginning of January to No.
37 by the end of February.
In doing so, he became the highest-ranked Canadian male ever.
He began this climb by qualifying for the Australian Open main draw.
His first round victory over Björn Phau marked his first victory in a main draw Grand Slam match.
In the second round, he defeated No.
22 seed Llodra, becoming the first Canadian man in 10 years to reach the third round of a Grand Slam singles tournament.
With his career-first victory over a top 10 player (Mikhail Youzhny) in the third round, he became the first qualifier to make the fourth round of a major since Marcelo Filippini at the 1999 French Open.

Despite losing in the fourth round to No.
7 David Ferrer, Raonic received rave reviews for his Australian Open performance.
Patrick McEnroe said "Raonic [is] the real deal".
BBC Sport referred to Raonic as part of "a new generation".
Martina Navratilova referred to Raonic as "a new star" saying that "the sky is the limit".
The Sydney Morning Herald referred to Raonic as a "future superstar".

Two weeks later, Raonic won his first ATP title at the Pacific Coast Championships, with victories over No.
45 Xavier Malisse, No.
170 James Blake, No.
74 Ričardas Berankis, and No.
9 Fernando Verdasco.
With the victory, he became the first player born in the 1990s to win an ATP title, and the youngest winner since Marin Čilić won the 2008 Connecticut Open at age 19.
Raonic's victory was the first ATP title by a Canadian since Greg Rusedski in 1995.

The following week, Raonic reached the final of an ATP 500 tournament for the first time at the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships.
He defeated Verdasco for the second time in three days in the first round, and No.
17 Mardy Fish in the semifinal.
In the final, he lost in three sets to No.
8 Roddick, with Roddick making a diving forehand to break serve for the match on his fifth championship point.
Roddick stated: "That's the best shot I've ever hit in my life, considering the circumstance."

With his improved ranking (No.
37), Raonic earned direct entry to Grand Slam tournaments and other ATP World Tour events for the first time.
He reached the third round at both the Indian Wells Masters and the Monte-Carlo Masters.
In May, Raonic rose to a new career-high ranking of No.
25.
He was seeded for the first time at a Grand Slam event at the French Open, but lost in the first round to Michael Berrer.
At the Halle Open, Raonic reached his first ATP World Tour doubles final, partnered with Robin Haase.
The pair lost to Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in the deciding super tiebreak.
During his second round singles match at Wimbledon against Gilles Müller, Raonic retired with an early lead after injuring his right hip when he slipped and fell on the grass.
He underwent hip surgery which prevented him from competing until September.
His only significant result in the latter half of 2011 after returning from injury was a semifinal appearance at the Stockholm Open, where he lost to Gaël Monfils.
The first two months of 2011 represented a significant breakthrough for Raonic, as he rose from No. 156 at the beginning of January to No. 37 by the end of February. In doing so, he became the highest-ranked Canadian male ever. He began this climb by qualifying for the Australian Open main draw. His first round victory over Björn Phau marked his first victory in a main draw Grand Slam match. In the second round, he defeated No. 22 seed Llodra, becoming the first Canadian man in 10 years to reach the third round of a Grand Slam singles tournament. With his career-first victory over a top 10 player (Mikhail Youzhny) in the third round, he became the first qualifier to make the fourth round of a major since Marcelo Filippini at the 1999 French Open.
Despite losing in the fourth round to No. 7 David Ferrer, Raonic received rave reviews for his Australian Open performance. Patrick McEnroe said "Raonic [is] the real deal". BBC Sport referred to Raonic as part of "a new generation". Martina Navratilova referred to Raonic as "a new star" saying that "the sky is the limit". The Sydney Morning Herald referred to Raonic as a "future superstar".
Two weeks later, Raonic won his first ATP title at the Pacific Coast Championships, with victories over No. 45 Xavier Malisse, No. 170 James Blake, No. 74 Ričardas Berankis, and No. 9 Fernando Verdasco. With the victory, he became the first player born in the 1990s to win an ATP title, and the youngest winner since Marin Čilić won the 2008 Connecticut Open at age 19. Raonic's victory was the first ATP title by a Canadian since Greg Rusedski in 1995.
The following week, Raonic reached the final of an ATP 500 tournament for the first time at the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships. He defeated Verdasco for the second time in three days in the first round, and No. 17 Mardy Fish in the semifinal. In the final, he lost in three sets to No. 8 Roddick, with Roddick making a diving forehand to break serve for the match on his fifth championship point. Roddick stated: "That's the best shot I've ever hit in my life, considering the circumstance."
With his improved ranking (No. 37), Raonic earned direct entry to Grand Slam tournaments and other ATP World Tour events for the first time. He reached the third round at both the Indian Wells Masters and the Monte-Carlo Masters. In May, Raonic rose to a new career-high ranking of No. 25. He was seeded for the first time at a Grand Slam event at the French Open, but lost in the first round to Michael Berrer. At the Halle Open, Raonic reached his first ATP World Tour doubles final, partnered with Robin Haase. The pair lost to Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in the deciding super tiebreak. During his second round singles match at Wimbledon against Gilles Müller, Raonic retired with an early lead after injuring his right hip when he slipped and fell on the grass. He underwent hip surgery which prevented him from competing until September. His only significant result in the latter half of 2011 after returning from injury was a semifinal appearance at the Stockholm Open, where he lost to Gaël Monfils.
Milos Raonic