Rafael Nadal beats John Isner to win maiden Cincinnati Masters crown

Rafael Nadal of Spain raises the trophy after winning his Men’s Singles final match against John Isner during the Western & Southern Open

Rafael Nadal continued his impressive hard court form to win his maiden Cincinnati Open crown with a 7-6(8), 7-6(3) victory over American John Isner.

With this win, Nadal extended his 2013 hard court winning streak to 15-0. It was Nadal’s 26th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title and ninth overall in 2013.

Nadal was serving at 5-6 in the first set when Isner forced two sets at 15-40. But, Nadal managed to hold on by firing two consecutive aces, and eventually, went on to win the set on his second set point.

Isner stretched Nadal to the tie-break in the second set too, but Nadal won that as well to clinch the match.

Nadal joins Novak Djokovic as the only players to win five Masters 1000 titles in a single year, and after winning at Montreal last year. This victory means that it’s the first time that Nadal has won back-to-back titles on hard court in consecutive weeks.