The Canada-Cincinnati Double Champions: Agassi, Rafter, Roddick, Nadal

Winning in sport is tough, but when you get on a role it can become a habit. In years gone by, winning became exactly that for Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter, Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal during North American swings.

In 1995, Agassi arrived in Montreal seeking success at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers and the Cincinnati Open. Two weeks and 10 wins later and his mission had been accomplished, with the American becoming the first man to win the Canadian-Cincinnati Masters 1000 double since the start of the Masters series in 1990.

Since 1990, cracking the winning code consecutively at both hard-court events has proven tough to crack, but not impossible. Patrick Rafter (1998), Andy Roddick (2003) and Rafael Nadal (2013) are the other stars to have won both hard-court events in the same season, with all three going on to win the US Open in the same year.

Ahead of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, which begins in Montreal on Monday, ATPTour.com looks back at the four champions who have tasted double success in North America.

Andre Agassi – 1995
Agassi arrived in Montreal in 1995 as the World No. 1, having captured hard-court titles earlier that year at the Australian Open and in San Jose, Miami and Washington. The American was the defending champion at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers and looked comfortable throughout his first four rounds at the ATP Masters 1000 event. He did not drop a set en route to the final in Canada, where he defeated long-term rival Pete Sampras 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the championship match to capture his third title at the Canadian Masters and sixth at ATP Masters 1000 level overall.

With his third victory of the year against World No. 2 Sampras, Agassi levelled their Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 8-8. It would be the last time the two would be at parity with each other, with Sampras eventually ending with a 20-14 lead. The pair would meet again in the semi-finals at the US Open that September when Sampras defeated Agassi to end his 26-match winning streak.

Before Agassi travelled to New York in late August there was the matter of aiming to become the first man to win the Canada-Cincinnati Masters 1000 double since The Masters series was introduced in 1990. With a week between the events, Agassi arrived in Ohio rested and recovered from a tight second-round win against former World No. 12 Alberto Berasategui - a match where Agassi lost the second set 0-6 – to eventually overcome two-time defending champ Michael Chang 7-5, 6-2 in the final. Agassi would go on to post a 73-9 record in 1995, the best win-loss season of his career.

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Patrick Rafter – 1998
Rafter would climb to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time in July 1999, holding the position famously for just one week. Rewind a year and it was his standout results in the 1998 North American summer that built the foundations for his rise to the top.

The Australian was the third seed in Toronto and in the opposite half to top seed Sampras and three-time champ Agassi. Rafter made fast progress through his half, defeating former Top 10 stars Mark Philippoussis, Jonas Bjorkman and Tim Henman to reach his third final of the season. Standing in his way in the championship match was not Agassi or Sampras, with the Americans losing in the semi-finals and quarter-finals, respectively. Instead, he played former World No. 4 Richard Krajicek, who had beaten Rafter in six of their previous seven meetings.

Rafter flipped the script, clinching a tight first set 7-6(3) before he won the second set 6-4 to become the first man in 10 years to win the Canadian Masters without dropping a set. It was Rafter’s maiden title at ATP Masters 1000 level.

The Australian then competed in Cincinnati, where he earned a hard-fought 1-6, 7-6(2) 6-4 victory against two-time champion Sampras in the final. Rafter beat Sampras again four weeks later at the US Open in a five-set semi-final thriller before he downed Philippoussis in four sets to win his second major and sixth trophy of the season. From his opening clash in Toronto to his final win in New York, Rafter claimed victory in 23 of the 24 matches he played. His only defeat came in the third round in New Haven to Guillaume Raoux.

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Andy Roddick – 2003
Roddick made his tour-level debut in Delray Beach in 2000 and captured the first of his 32 singles titles in Atlanta in 2001. However, 2003 was the year the then-21-year-old would make his major breakthrough. Starting the season at No. 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Roddick arrived in Montreal at No. 7, having won in Indianapolis two weeks before.

Roddick opened with a tough three-set win against Xavier Malisse and would go on to claw past Roger Federer in a deciding-set tie-break in the semi-finals. In their fifth meeting, it was the first time Roddick had overcome Federer and would be one of just three times in his career he would do so – Federer holds a 21-3 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the American. His victory against the Swiss legend instilled belief in Roddick, who dispatched Argentine David Nalbandian 6-1, 6-3 in the final to win his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown.

Roddick then raced through the field in Cincinnati, where he did not lose a set en route to the title match. Standing in his way was long-time friend Mardy Fish, who as one year Roddick’s senior, had spent his junior days living with Roddick’s family, with the pair training together in Boca Raton, Florida. In a thrilling final, Roddick saved two championship points on serve at 4-5 in the third set, eventually escaping to earn a 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(4) victory.

Just as Rafter did in 1998, Roddick would win the US Open in September, defeating Nalbandian once again before he beat Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets to win the first and only major of his career.

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Rafael Nadal – 2013
Nadal’s 2013 season was one of the greatest of his historic career. The Spaniard won 10 tour-level trophies, – bettered only by the 11 he collected in 2005 – while he tallied a staggering 75-7 win-loss record.

However, when the Spaniard arrived in Montreal in 2013 he was aiming to bounce back from a disappointing first-round Wimbledon exit to Belgian Steve Darcis. Nadal cruised through his first three matches at the Canadian Masters and then met Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. Two months after their five-set epic at Roland Garros, Nadal once again beat the Serbian, this time 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2). With his victory, Nadal recorded his first win against Djokovic on hard courts in three years and set a final with home favourite Milos Raonic. Nadal would defeat the Canadian 6-2, 6-2 to win his second Canadian Masters 1000 crown.

The following week in Cincinnati, Nadal survived a three-set scare from then-22-year-old Grigor Dimitrov before he beat Federer 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarter-finals. His win against Federer was his third consecutive against the former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Nadal beat Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals and John Isner 7-6(8), 7-6(3) in the final to lift the trophy in Cincinnati for the first time.

"It means a lot, being able to win two straight titles, two Masters 1000 on hard back to back is just amazing for me," Nadal said, reflecting on his accomplishment. "I never did something like this in all my career. So it was an emotional moment for so many different facts."

Like Rafter and Roddick, Nadal went on to win the US Open in September, his 13th major and second US Open crown at the time.

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