American sixth seed Jessica Pegula has the opportunity to become the first woman to achieve the Canadian Open-Cincinnati Open double since Australian Evonne Goolagong in 1973. It is important to note that in 1973, the tournaments were held two weeks apart, whereas they are scheduled for one week apart this year. Pegula successfully defended her Canadian Open title last Monday, traveled to Cincinnati on Tuesday, and participated in two matches on Friday due to inclement weather. Notably, three of her four matches this week have extended to three sets, resulting in a total of 8 hours and 20 minutes spent on the court in Cincinnati.
In comparison, her opponent, third seed Aryna Sabalenka, has not lost a set this week, having played for a total of 6 hours and 6 minutes. This marks Sabalenka’s first appearance in the Cincinnati Open final after reaching the semifinals on three previous occasions. In their previous encounters, Sabalenka holds a 4-2 advantage in their head-to-head record; however, Pegula emerged victorious in their most recent match in October and has won two of their three meetings on hard courts.
The determination of the women’s doubles championship will take place at the Cincinnati Open.
Top seed and world number one Jannik Sinner, along with unseeded Frances Tiafoe, each advanced to the men’s final after successfully competing in their semifinals, which both concluded with third-set tiebreaks. This marks a historic moment as it is the first occurrence of such an event in the Open Era, dating back to 1969. Sinner is the first Italian to reach the final in Cincinnati, while Tiafoe is the first American male finalist since John Isner in 2013. The last American male to claim the championship title was Andy Roddick in 2006.
The wildcard doubles team of Americans Mackenzie McDonald and Alex Michelsen are experiencing an exciting week at their second tournament together. They achieved a significant victory in the quarterfinals by defeating the 2022 champions and world co-No. 1s, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, to advance to today’s final. McDonald, who won both the NCAA doubles and singles championships in 2016 while at UCLA, also has one ATP Tour doubles title. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Michelsen is participating in his first ATP Tour doubles final. They face a formidable challenge in the championship match against the fourth seeds, Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic, who are the reigning French Open champions with a combined total of 50 doubles titles, including six Grand Slam titles. McDonald and Michelsen are aiming to become the first all-American duo to win this tournament in 10 years, since Bob and Mike Bryan last claimed the Cincinnati title in 2014.
American athlete Asia Muhammad and New Zealander Erin Routliffe secured the women’s doubles title, marking their first championship as a team. This victory represents Muhammad’s most significant achievement in her career and her third title of the current year. For Routliffe, the reigning US Open title holder and current doubles world No. 1, this marks her second title of the year. The duo triumphed over Canada’s Leylah Fernandez and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva with a score of 3-6, 6-1, 10-4.
The most recent occurrence of American athletes competing in both the men’s and women’s singles finals was in 2013, featuring John Isner and Serena Williams. In the Open Era, which began in 1969 in Cincinnati, there has never been a year where American players reached the finals in both men’s and women’s singles and doubles—until now, with Frances Tiafoe, Jessica Pegula, Mackenzie McDonald/Alex Michelsen, and Asia Muhammad achieving this milestone.
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