Carlos Moya was presented with a chance to make history at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati 20 years ago and he grabbed it with both hands. The former No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings captured the crown at the ATP Masters 1000, something no other Spaniard had done before him. In the summer of 2002, the Mallorcan beat World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt 7-5, 7-6(5) to achieve his feat. A glass ceiling had been smashed by a player who was brave, determined and, above all, ready to pounce when opportunity knocked.
It was 11 August 2002 and sport threw up a conundrum that Moya was more than ready to solve.
He had made his way through a draw that was at the mercy of his forehand, a stroke that, with the aid of the Ohio sun, was capable of bringing any player to his knees. It proved too much for French player Ciryl Saulnier and the Dutch Sjeng Schalken, before the American Michael Chang and German Rainer Schuettler also succumbed to its venom. In the semi-final, Juan Carlos Ferrero, just a 22-year-old on his way to the elite, was unable to deal with the barrage.
However, on the day of the final, Cincinnati was about to throw a curveball.
A summer tournament whose intense sunshine would habitually test the fitness of players to the limit had clouded over from one day to the next. As dawn broke, it was considerably overcast, the mercury had plummeted and the water that had been so sought-after during the days of scorching heat, was threatening to fall from the sky. For the players, affected as they are by the impact of temperature on the behaviour of tennis balls, it was a complete game changer.
