MONTREAL -- Rafael Nadal defeated Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-2 at the US$3.49-million Rogers Cup on Sunday to end the Canadian's hopes of ending a 55-year title drought at the country's biggest tennis tournament.
Robert Bedard of Sherbrooke, Que., the last Canadian to win what was then called the Canadian Open in 1955, was in attendance to see Nadal claim his third Rogers Cup, to go with wins in 2005 and 2008.
Raonic, of Thornhill, Ont., was the first Canadian since the now 81-year-old Bedard even to reach the final.
Nadal, playing for the first time since his first-round loss at Wimbledon in June, posted his eighth tournament win this year and the 58th of his career.
He won $522,550, while Raonic took in $256,220.
By reaching the final, the 22-year-old Raonic will move up to 10th in world rankings, a record for a Canadian. He will be the youngest player in the top 10. Nadal will move from fourth to third.
Raonic has worn different coloured Davis Cup-style shirts with a maple leaf over the heart all week, but saved a red-and-white one for the final. It didn't help as Nadal needed just one hour eight minutes to win.
But the Uniprix Stadium crowd was solidly behind Raonic throughout the one-sided match despite the score.
Nadal's all-around game, and particularly his superior passing shots and baseline play, proved too much for the power-hitting Raonic, who was only effective in games in which his booming serve was working.
On a windy afternoon, Nadal had two service breaks in the first set, including one after trailing 0-40, and broke again to open the second. At 2-1 in the second set, Raonic wasted three break points to let his best chance for a break slip away.
The Spaniard broke again for a 5-2 lead and then served out the match.
Nadal is 4-0 against Raonic in his career.
Nadal stretched his record for wins in Masters series tournaments to 25 with his fourth this year. He is 48-3 and has reached the final of 10 out of 11 tournaments played in 2013.
It was a record-setting week for Canadian players, as five of the six in the main draw reached the Rogers Cup second round.
Raonic's victory over Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., on Saturday marked the first time two Canadians were in the semifinals of an ATP Tour event since Andrew Sznajder and Martin Wosterholme in 1990 at Rio de Janeiro.
The last Canadian to get that far in the Rogers Cup, then called the Canadian Open, was Mike Belkin of Montreal in 1969.
The Rogers Cup performances followed Canada's record run in Davis Cup play. They beat Italy in April to advance for the first time to the semifinals, where they will play Serbia in September.
