Tennis players to achieve Canada-Cincinnati double in ATP Open Era

Only four players have completed the Canada-Cincinnati double sweep in the same year.

Winning a major tournament in tennis is an achievement in itself. An added dose of prestige comes from claiming victory at events bound together by a common thread. These could be geographical proximity or spread out over the same part of the tennis calendar, or both.

The Channel Slam (French Open and Wimbledon) and the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami) come to mind. Another grouping worth nothing is the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open, both being ATP 1000 events hosted by neighbours Canada and the USA.

During their careers, four tennis greats, Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter, Andy Roddick, and Rafael Nadal, have completed one of the ATP Tour’s rather unique accomplishments. Since the ATP Masters 1000 series got underway in 1990, only these four players have followed up a title run in Canada with another in Ohio in the same season. Expect for Agassi, the other three players went on to win the US Open the same year.

Andre Agassi – 1995

Andre Agassi is the founding member of the club to have claimed the Canada and Cincinnati Masters, having earned the double in 1995. Agassi was in Montreal as the World No. #1 and defending champion in 1995, having won hard court titles at San Jose, Miami, and Washington in addition to the Australian Open earlier that year.

It was the American’s third trophy in Canada, having picked up the trophy in 1992 and 1994. The win in 1995 came against familiar foe Pete Sampras for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win.

Also read: List of tennis players to achieve singles career golden slam

At Cincinnati, too, Agassi won three titles – twice back-to-back against the same opponent, Michael Chang, in 1995 and 1996. When Agassi faced off against Chang in 1995, the latter was a two-time defending champion at the Cincinnati Open. Agassi overcame Chang 7-5, 6-2 in the title round to complete the double. He won the Cincinnati Masters for the final time against compatriot Andy Roddick in 2004.

Patrick Rafter – 1998

Patrick Rafter joined Andre Agassi in 1995 as the second player to bag the Canada and Cincinnati Masters trophies the same year. It was the only time the Australian won the Canada and Cincinnati Masters titles. The win in Canada came at the expense of Dutchman Richard Krajickek, and in Cincinnati, Rafter overcame American Pete Sampras.

At the Canadian Masters, Rafter was up against Krajicek, who had got the better of Rafter in six of their previous seven tour-level meetings. Rafter won his maiden title at the ATP Masters 1000 level in Canada by handing Krajickek a straight-set loss, with the final scoreline reading 7-6(3), 6-4.

When Rafter took on Sampras in the Cincinnati final, he was trailing the American 8-1. After the American took the first set for the loss of one game, Rafter maintained his composure to battle back for a 1-6, 7-6(2) 6-4 victory and emulate Agassi’s historic ‘Summer Sweep’ from three years before.

Andy Roddick – 2003

Roddick was in Montreal as the World No. #7 and had won the Indianapolis Tennis Championships in Indianapolis, USA, a fortnight before. Andy Roddick made the finals of the Canadian Masters three years in a row between 2002 and 2004 but would win it only once, in 2003 against David Nalbandian. Roddick won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown with a 6-1, 6-3 win in the final over the Argentine.

Before taking on Nalbandian, Roddick moved past Roger Federer in the last four, winning 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) in a deciding-set tie-break. It would be one of three times that Roddick defeated the Swiss, ending up with a 21-3 record against Federer.

The same year, he would go on to win the Cincinnati Masters on home soil against fellow American Mardy Fish for his first of two titles in Cincinnati. The second occasion was three years later, in 2006, against Juan Carlos Ferrero. Roddick had to dig deep against Fish, pulling off a hard-earned 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(4) win. 

Rafael Nadal – 2013

Rafael Nadal’s 2013 season saw him win 10 tour-level trophies—bettered only by the haul of 11 he collected in 2005.

While the achievement of winning the double came much later, Rafael Nadal won his first Canadian Masters in 2005 against Andre Agassi. It was the first of his five titles in Canada.

In 2013, Nadal was coming off a disappointing first-round Wimbledon exit to Belgian Steve Darcis. A semi-final win in Canada against Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2), ushered the Spaniard into the title round against home favourite Milos Raonic. Nadal ensured his second Canadian Masters 1000 with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Raonic.

Nadal followed up with a win over John Isner 7-6(8), 7-6(3) in the Cincinnati Masters final to lift the trophy for the first time. En route to the title, Nadal beat Federer in the quarter-finals and Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals. The 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win over the Swiss great was Nadal’s third straight win in his long-standing rivalry with Federer.  

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