Winning back-to-back competitions in any sport is an
incredible feat, but in tennis, it becomes even more special as tournaments come thick and fast, at times without any break. That has been once again proven in the ongoing
Cincinnati Open. The mega-event started on Tuesday, and some of
the big-name players from all over the world are participating to secure the
ultimate prize.
Before the tournament started, there was another event that
ended in Montreal with the name of the
Canadian Open. In the men’s singles category, that competition was won by Australia’s
Alexei Popyrin, who defeated Russia’s Andrey
Rublev in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-4. However, his
journey in the Cincinnati Open was short-lived, as he was knocked out in the first
round after losing to France’s Gael Monfils in straight sets with a score of
7-5, 6-3.
He became another player who could not complete
the double in the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open. Last year, Italy’s Jannik
Sinner, who won the Canadian Open, lost early in the opening round in Cincinnati.
The same happened with Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev,
former world number one Rafael Nadal, Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Serbia’s
legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic. Only four players in men’s tennis have managed to complete the
double of Canadian and the Cincinnati Open.
Former world number one Andre
Agassi did that in 1995, former Australian tennis star Patrick Rafter achieved
that in 1998, America’s Andy Roddick secured that in 2003 and Spain’s legendary
tennis star Rafael Nadal registered that in 2013. This year, there will be a new
champion at the Cincinnati Open as the player who won it last year —Djokovic — withdrew
from the mega-event after recently taking part in the Paris Olympics. The
37-year-old won the gold medal for his country after beating Spain’s Carlos
Alcaraz in the final in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 7-6.