Reviewing the past champions of the North American Masters Triple Crown: Sampras, Agassi, and Rogers, while Medvedev's fall was rapid!

The end of the US Open marks the close of the North American fall hard court tournaments. The North American Masters Triple Crown has always been a rare achievement, with very few able to secure all three titles within one season.

So, apart from Rafter in 1998, Roddick in 2003, and Nadal in 2013, who else has captured championships at these three events across different years?

Leading the list are naturally the hard court kings Federer and Djokovic. Federer achieved an impressive five consecutive wins at Flushing Meadows, but due to various reasons, he never completed the Triple Crown in those five years. He won Cincinnati twice, in 2005 and 2007, while at the Rogers Cup, he only claimed titles in 2004 and 2006 throughout his career.

Djokovic won the Rogers Cup quite early, first claiming the title in 2007 and then three more times afterward. However, his Cincinnati Masters victory only came in 2018, completing his set of Masters titles. Since then, Djokovic has performed well in this tournament, winning it two more times.

Besides them, the new hard court king Sinner has also secured all three trophies. His 2023 Rogers Cup win marked his first Masters and major title, followed last year by victories at Cincinnati and the US Open. Unfortunately, he was unable to defend those titles this year.

Compared to the North American Sunshine Double and the clay court Triple Crown, Murray’s record in the North American Masters Triple Crown is quite commendable, having won six titles across the three events. Notably, in the 2012 US Open final, he defeated his friend Djokovic to claim his first Grand Slam title.

The two American legends, Sampras and Agassi, never completed the career Grand Slam in these three events; interestingly, both missed out on the Rogers Cup.

Another player who achieved the career Grand Slam is the former hard court king Medvedev. He won his first Masters title at Cincinnati in 2019, then took the Rogers Cup in 2021, and famously stopped Djokovic’s calendar Grand Slam bid at the US Open that same year. However, compared to his performance this year, the difference is stark.

This year’s second-time US Open champion Auger-Aliassime’s best previous result at Cincinnati was runner-up. His match against Djokovic there was hailed as one of the best tour battles of the year. This year, he faced Sinner in the final, with a highly anticipated showdown expected before the US Open, but Sinner unexpectedly withdrew, allowing Auger-Aliassime to claim his first hard court title of the latter half of the season.

Other players with two major titles include Safin, who famously defeated home favorite Sampras at the 2000 US Open, creating a memorable story; and Zverev, who is just one US Open title short of the complete set.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Luo Cheng Qiye)