Cincinnati Masters

For the LPGA golf tournament, see Cincinnati Open (LPGA Tour).
Cincinnati Masters
Location Mason, Ohio
 United States
Venue Lindner Family Tennis Center
Surface Hard / Outdoors
[1]
 ATP World Tour
Category Masters 1000
Draw 56S / 32Q / 24D
Prize Money US$2,430,000
 WTA Tour
Category Premier 5
Draw 56S / 32Q / 28D
Prize Money US$2,000,000

The Cincinnati Masters or Cincinnati Open (currently sponsored by Western and Southern) is an annual outdoor hardcourt tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city.[1], Between 1978 to 1989 it was a major tournament of the men's Grand Prix Tennis Tour and part of the Grand Prix Championship Series.

The men's event is one of nine Masters 1000 tournaments on the ATP World Tour. The women's event is a $2 million Premier 5 event on the WTA Tour and is the only WTA event held in the American Midwest. The 2012 event will be held August 11–19. Due to its sponsorship by the Western & Southern Financial Group, the official name of the event is the Western & Southern Open.

Contents

History

The tournament was started in 1899 as the Cincinnati Open (it would later be known by several other names, including the Tri-State Tennis Tournament and ATP Championships),[2] and would eventually grow into the tournament now held in Mason.[3] The original tournament was held at the Avondale Athletic Club, which sat on property that is now Xavier University, and would later be moved to several various locations due to changes in tournament management and surfaces. The first tournament in 1899 was played on clay courts (described in a newspaper article of the time as "crushed brick dust"), and the event was mostly played on clay until 1979 when it switched permanently to hardcourts.

In 1903, the tournament was moved to the Cincinnati Tennis Club, where it was primarily held until 1972. In 1974, the tournament was nearly dropped from the tennis calendar but moved at the last moment to the Cincinnati Convention Center, where it was played indoors and, for the first time since 1919, without a women's draw. In 1975, the tournament moved to the Coney Island amusement park on the Ohio River, and the tournament began to gain momentum again.

In 1979 the tournament moved to Mason where a permanent stadium was to be built and the surface was changed from Har-Tru clay to hardcourt (DecoTurf II.). Later, two other permanent stadiums were constructed, making the Cincinnati Masters the only tennis tournament outside the four Grand Slam events with three stadium courts – Center Court, Grandstand Court and Court 3. The women's competition was reinstated in 1988 for one year, and then again in 2004 when the organizers, with the help of the Octagon sports agency, bought a tour tournament previously held in Croatia and moved it to Cincinnati.

Since 1975, the tournament has been guided by Paul M. Flory, current tournament chairman and former executive with the Procter & Gamble Company. During his tenure, the tournament has enriched its considerable heritage, while donating millions of dollars to charity. Currently, the tournament donates money to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and The Charles M. Barrett Cancer Center at University Hospital. Flory has been honored with the ATP's Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award and enshrinement in the USTA/Midwest Hall of Fame and the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame. In 2009, he was named one of the Great Living Cincinnatians by the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. Flory began his involvement as a volunteer with the tournament in the late 1960s and has remained a volunteer, having never accepted a salary.

In August, 2008, the men's tournament was sold to the United States Tennis Association, the owners of the US Open.

In 2011 the men's and women's tournaments were played at the same time making a joint tournament. As a result the name of the competition changed from the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open to the Western & Southern Open.[2]

Wellington Orthopedics, a local sports medicine business, currently sponsors the tournament, and is in charge of any medical problems within the players.

Venue

The tournament is played at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, located at 5460 Courseview Drive in Mason, Ohio. It features three tennis stadiums, and is the only venue outside of the Grand Slams with more than two permanent stadiums. Center Court, built in 1981 and expanded over the years, has a capacity of 11,400. Grandstand Court (Stadium 2), built in 1995, has a capacity of 5,000. Court #3 (Stadium 3), built in 1997, has a capacity of 2,000. The venue has a total of 10 courts.

In 2009, the tennis tournament announced the construction of a $10 million upgrade to the facility, including the construction of a 52,000 square feet (4,800 m2) West Building to add space for players, media and fans. The new building, which opened in mid-2010, is approximately twice as high as the previous West Building, rising 85 feet (26 m) above ground level and 97 feet (30 m) above the court level.

In 2010, the tournament announced plans to expand the grounds by more than 40% and add six new courts. One of those courts will seat 4,000 and will serve as the third television court, while another court will have seating for 2,500. A new ticket office, entry plaza, food court and exhibit areas also are included in the plans.[4] Construction started on August 22, 2010 and is expected to be completed by August 13, 2011.

Current champions

Main article: List of Cincinnati Open champions

Men's Singles finals

Year Champion Runner-up Score
2011 Andy Murray Novak Djokovic 6–4, 3–0, ret.

Women's Singles finals

Year Champion Runner-up Score
2011 Maria Sharapova Jelena Janković 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–3

Men's Doubles champions

Year Champion Runner-up Score
2011 Mahesh Bhupathi
Leander Paes		 Michaël Llodra
Nenad Zimonjić		 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–2)

Women's Doubles champions

Year Champion Runner-up Score
2011 Vania King
Yaroslava Shvedova		 Natalie Grandin
Vladimíra Uhlířová		 6–4, 3–6, [11–9]

Records

Record Player Titles/Record
Most Men's Singles titles George Lott, Bobby Riggs, Mats Wilander and Roger Federer 4
Most consecutive Men's Singles titles Raymond D. Little, Beals Wright, Robert LeRoy, and Bobby Riggs 3
Most Women's Singles titles Ruth Sanders Cordes and Clara Louise Zinke 5
Most consecutive Women's Singles titles Ruth Sanders Cordes, May Sutton, and Clara Louise Zinke 3
Most Men's Doubles titles Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde 4
Most Women's Doubles titles Clara Louise Zinke 6
Most consecutive Women's Doubles titles Martha Kinsey and Clara Louise Zinke 4
Most Men's Titles Raymond D. Little 11
Most Women's Titles Clara Louise Zinke 12
Most Men's Finals Appearances (all events) William Talbert 14
Most Women's Finals Appearances (all events) Clara Louise Zinke 18
No. 1 Seeds Winning Men's Title (seeding began 1927) 38
No. 1 Seeds Winning Women's Title (since 1927) 27
Most Times Seeded No. 1, men (since 1927) Roger Federer 6
Most Times Seeded No. 1, women (since 1927) Pauline Betz 4

Note

The 1979 men's competition was a non-Grand Prix event not bringing any ATP ranking points although named "ATP Championships", run as a rival event to US Pro Championships in Boston.

References

  1. ^ From Club Court to Center Court by Phillip S. Smith, page 3 (2008 Edition; ISBN# 978-0-9712445-7-3).
  2. ^ a b "Cincinnati tournament changes name". www.atpworldtour.com. http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2010/12/Other/Cincinnati-Western-Southern-Open.aspx. Retrieved 7 December 2010. 
  3. ^ Follow the Bouncing Ball, citybeat.com, August 2, 2001.
  4. ^ "Cincinnati expansion plans". Press release (ATP). 2010-08-21. http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2010/08/33/Cincinnati-Expansion-Plans.aspx. Retrieved 2010-08-22. 

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