WASHINGTON (AP) – Milos Raonic easily won the first all-Canadian tournament final in ATP history, erasing the only break point he faced and beating Vasek Pospisil 6-1, 6-4 Sunday at the Citi Open for his sixth career title.
The second-seeded Raonic produced serves topping 140 mph (225 kph) and broke Pospisil four times at the hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open. The year’s last Grand Slam tournament begins Aug. 25.
Raonic, a semifinalist at Wimbledon last month, earned $316,400 for the victory and his ranking will rise one spot Monday to No. 6, matching his career high.
The ATP said it was the first time two men from Canada played each other in a tour final in the Open era, which began in 1968, and red-and-white maple leaf flags dotted the stands on the outskirts of Washington.
“The beautiful irony is that it’s a final between two Canadians in (the U.S.) capital. I love that irony,” Tennis Canada President and CEO Kelly Murumets said in a telephone interview from her office in Toronto.