The 4 men to complete Canadian Open-Cincinnati Open ‘Summer Sweep’ – ft Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi
After the biggest win of his career just a few days ago, Alexei Popyrin came crashing down at the Cincinnati Open.
The Australian shocked the tennis world with his epic triumph at the Canadian Open last week becoming the fourth lowest-ranked Masters 1000 champion in history.
However, he won’t match those exploits in Cincinnati, beaten in round one by Gael Monfils.
The ‘Summer Sweep’ has been notoriously tricky over the years, with even Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic unable to win both events in the same summer.
Here, we look at the four men who completed the elusive double.
Andre Agassi – 1995
The first man to complete the ‘Summer Sweep’ was Agassi, with the former world No 1 doing so 29 years ago.
The eight-time major champion won his third and final Canadian Open title in 1995, thrashing Mats Wilander in the last four before rallying from a set down to beat Pete Sampras.
Agassi then made it back-to-back titles across that summer with the first of three triumphs in Cincinnati.
The top seed breezed past 13th seed Thomas Enqvist in their semi-final clash, then downed two-time defending champion and fourth seed Michael Chang in the final.
Patrick Rafter – 1998
In 1998, former world No 1 Rafter claimed both titles in by far and away the most successful spell of his career.
The Australian was seeded third at the Canadian Open and did not drop a set on his way to the title, easing past the likes of Tim Henman and Richard Krajicek to lift the title.
Rafter then completed the sweep in Cincinnati, the fifth seed beating former Slam winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the last four before battling past Sampras in a three-set final.
After completing the double Rafter’s summer only got better, with a title in Long Island before a successful defence of his US Open title.
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Andy Roddick – 2003
Much like Rafter, in 2003 Roddick would win in Canada and Cincinnati before ultimately lifting the title at the US Open.
The US star lost in the 2002 Canadian Open final though went one better in 2003, edging past long-term nemesis Roger Federer in the last four before a comfortable final victory over David Nalbandian.
Roddick then stormed through the Cincinnati draw to reach his first final there, where he battled past good friend Mardy Fish to prevail in a three-set epic.
He would ultimately beat Juan Carlos Ferrero in New York for his first and only Slam.
Rafael Nadal – 2013
All-time great Nadal followed Roddick and Rafter’s footsteps by completing the ‘Summer Sweep’ before a successful US Open campaign.
The Canadian Open was one of Nadal’s best hard-court events, and he won the third of his five titles in 2013.
The Spaniard saw off enduring rival Novak Djokovic in a three-set semi-final, before making light work of home favourite Milos Raonic in the final.
Nadal then claimed his first, and only, Cincinnati title, beating Roger Federer in the quarter-finals on his way to the final, where he saw off John Isner.
A few weeks later, he beat Djokovic in the US Open final for the second of his four titles at Flushing Meadows.
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