The Canada curse as Alexei Popyrin falls short in the Cincinnati Open following Toronto win

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.