The 7 men to win the Canadian Open as world No 1 as Jannik Sinner looks to achieve unique feat
There have been 29 different world No 1s since the rankings were introduced in men’s tennis and only seven players on that list have managed to win the Canadian Open while they have been in top spot.
The Canadian Open has been an ever-present tournament on the ATP Tour since the start of the Open Era in 1968, but the rankings were only introduced in 1973, meaning the likes of Rod Laver and John Newcombe probably missed out as they won titles in North America before 1973.
Unsurprisingly the Big Three of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer feature on the list with a couple of other greats.
Jannik Sinner will start the 2024 Canadian Open not only as the defending champion, but also as the world No 1 and he will look to become the first men’s player since Nadal in 2018 to win the title while topping the rankings.
The Italian is also looking to become the first man since Nadal in 2019 to successfully defend his title.
The 7 men to win the Canadian Open as world No 1:
Bjorn Borg – 1979
Bjorn Borg became the first world No 1 to win the Canadian Open in 1979. He returned to the top of the rankings for his third stint as No 1 in July 1979 and won the title in August, defeating John McEnroe 6–3, 6–3 in the final.
Facts & Stats Features
The 8 men with the most Canadian Open titles: Rafael Nadal 2nd, Novak Djokovic 3rd
The last 5 Canadian Open men’s singles champions – ft. Jannik Sinner, Rafael Nadal
John McEnroe – 1984 and 1985
Borg was the first player to achieve the feat, but McEnroe was the first to do it twice.
McEnroe replaced Ivan Lendl as No 1 on August 13, 1984 – which was his 13th spell at the top – and by the end of the week he lifted his first Canadian Open trophy with a two-set win over fellow American Vitas Gerulaitis.
McEnroe stayed at No 1 until August 18, 1985 and that period was just long enough for him to win his second Canadian Open title in 1985 as he beat Lendl in the final.
Ivan Lendl – 1987, 1988 and 1989
Ivan Lendl went one better than McEnroe as he won the Canadian Open as the No 1 for three consecutive years.
The Czech-American was top of the rankings from September 9, 1985 until Sep 11, 1988 and during that time he won the tournament twice, beating Stefan Edberg in both finals.
Lendl won the last of his six Canadian Open titles and third as world No 1 in 1989 when he defeated McEnroe in the final.
Andre Agassi – 1995
There were 11 different No 1s and eight different Canadian Open winners in the 1990s and Andre Agassi was the only player to win the title while sitting at the top of the rankings.
Agassi won the title in 1992, 1994 and 1995, but he was at No 1 only for his last win in 1995 when he beat Pete Sampras 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 in the final.
Roger Federer – 2004 and 2006
Canada had to wait nearly another decade before seeing the world No 1 lift the trophy as Roger Federer became the first player of modern-day greats to reach the milestone.
Federer’s first stint as world No 1 started on February 2, 2004 and ended on August 17, 2008 and during that time he won the Canadian twice, defeating Andy Roddick in the 2004 final and Richard Gasquet two years later.
Novak Djokovic – 2011 and 2016
Novak Djokovic first became world No 1 on July 4, 2011 and just over a month later he won the second of his four titles in Canada, beating Mardy Fish in the final.
His third spell at No 1 lasted from July 7, 2014 until November 6, 2016 and he beat Japan Kei Nishikori in the 2016 final.
Rafael Nadal – 2018
Rafael Nadal replaced Federer at No 1 on June 25, 2018 and two months later he lifted the fourth of his five Canadian Open titles with a win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
