- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Roger Federer has won the Cincinnati Masters as many as seven times.
This year, as the second seed, he will be hoping to win his eighth which will also ensure his return to world number one ranking. In the King’s way will be the top-seeded Rafa Nadal, who will be hoping to win this tournament for the second time to become world number one.
Yes, whoever among Federer and Rafa does better in this edition of the Cincinnati Masters will finish the tournament as the new world number one. We will come to that later. Before that, let us first get a few basic facts and info out of our way.
Tournament history
The Cincinnati Masters is one of the nine elite Masters 1000 tennis tournaments on the ATP World Tour. One of the oldest tournaments ever which started in 1899, it was played on clay until 1979 and since then has been played on hardcourt.
Apart from the four Grand Slams, this is the only tennis tournament to have more than two stadium courts. In fact, it has 17 courts in total including as many as four stadium courts.
The first ever champion here was Nat Emerson in 1899, who defeated Dudley Sutphin. An apple orchard owner and a top American amateur player, Nat made a Grand Slam semi final only once (the US Open in 1908).
However, he was a Cincinnati Open hall of famer and still holds the record for most appearances in the last 16 with 12, a record he holds with his brother, H Truxton Emerson, and Michael Chang.
There were various well-known champions over the years. Bobby Riggs won four times in five years from 1936 to 1940. Ken Rosewall, Connors, Mcenroe, Lendl, Wilander, Edberg, Sampras, Agassi and Chang are also Champions who have won here.
What about the Big Four?
Roger Federer won here for the first time in 2005, defeating Andy Roddick in the final. He then won again in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015. That makes it a staggering seven titles here.
(The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images )
Roddick, James Blake, Mardy Fish, David Ferrer and Novak Djokovic (thrice) are the worthy finalists who Federer has defeated at Cincinnati. Five of his seven wins here have come in straight sets, while Mardy Fish and Ferrer are the only two opponents who have taken a set off him.
Federer has a perfect 7-0 record here in all seven finals he has played. His seven is also the most titles won here.
Nadal has entered only one final, which was in 2013 when he defeated the giant American, John Isner, 7-6, 7-6.
Andy Murray, who has opted out this year, has won twice, in 2008 and 2011, defeating Djokovic both times. Murray also entered the final last year, where he lost to Marin Cilic.
Djokovic, who is also not playing this year, has not won here and this is the only Masters title which has eluded him. His five finals have resulted in three losses to Federer and two to Murray.
In 2016 the champion was Marin Cilic while the runner-up was Andy Murray. Both are not playing this year. The two favourites for this year will be Federer and Nadal, followed by probably Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem.
Let’s see how the draw looks for the top two seeds after they deservedly get their first round bye.
The likely opponents for Federer are Khachanovor or Shwartzman in the second round and Jack Sock in the third. Thereafter, the other top players he is likely to meet are Gregor Dimitrov, Martin Del Potro, Tomas Berdych, Zverev and Milos Raonic.
Rafa has a tougher route to the final. His likely opponents are Richard Gasquet in the second round, Gilles Muller and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third and quarter-finals.
(AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI)
Rafa will certainly be looking to avenge his painful Wimbledon exit at the hands of Muller. Thereafter, if Rafa is to proceed to the final, he will have to defeat Dominic Thiem, who himself will reach the semi-finals if he gets the better of Kei Nishikori in the quarters.
Dangerous floaters could be Sam Querrey, Jack Sock, Nick Kyrgios and Del Potro who, on their day, can take out anybody especially in a best of three tournament where there is less time to get back.
So it’s time to get rolling. There is enough motivation for both Nadal and Federer to win as they will get the world number one ranking back. Federer can also become the oldest winner here at age 36, eclipsing the record of Ken Rosewall who was 35 years and eight months when he won here in 1970.
The youngest champion here at 17 was Boris Becker in his breakthrough year in 1985. That record seems likely to continue for at least a year, if not more.
Will Federer win, or will it be Rafa?
The record and history here says it will be Federer, especially as Cincinnati’s faster courts will suit him. Rafa, however, has a superior 23-14 record against him. On hardcourt, however, Federer leads 10-9.
It could be therefore a titanic battle if both reach the final. My guess is Federer will win, however Rafa will certainly not make it easy for him.
We will know soon. Let the action begin.
Whether it’s aces or races, try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp for great odds and a great punting experience. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.