ATP Cincinnati 1981 Draw, Results & Schedule

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John McEnroe won the 1981 Cincinnati, defeating Chris Lewis 6-3 6-4 in the final. The Masters 1000 event was played on hard courts in Cincinnati, United States, from August 17 to August 24, 1981.

Champion
John McEnroe
def. Chris Lewis , 6-3 6-4
Dates
Aug 17 — Aug 24
Location
Cincinnati, United States
Category
Masters 1000
Surface
Hard
Prize money
—
News: Cincinnati Open 2026 entry list revealed: 10 past champions, 15 Grand Slam winners set to compete (Women's Tennis Blog, 1d ago) Alcaraz eyes return from injury at Cincinnati Open (BBC Sport Tennis, 2d ago, 4 sources) Cincinnati Open adds tournament days and new on-site experiences in 2026 (Women's Tennis Blog, 3d ago) Carlos Alcaraz Injury Update: Spaniard Pulls Out of ATP Montreal Entry List (Last Word On Tennis, 8d ago) Why Big Servers Keep Beating Andrey Rublev (Last Word On Tennis, 30d ago)
DateRoundWinnerScoreLoserH2HMatch
F (1)
Aug 24, 1981* F John McEnroe #1 6-3 6-4 Chris Lewis #48 H2H Match data
SF (2)
Aug 23, 1981* SF John McEnroe #1 7-6 6-1 Raul Ramirez #52 H2H Match data
Aug 23, 1981* SF Chris Lewis #74 6-7 7-6 6-3 Stan Smith #37 — Match data
QF (4)
Aug 23, 1981* QF Chris Lewis #74 6-3 1-6 6-3 Bill Scanlon #35 H2H Match data
Aug 23, 1981* QF John McEnroe #1 1-6 6-3 6-2 Bob Lutz — Match data
Aug 23, 1981* QF Raul Ramirez #52 6-1 2-6 6-3 Thierry Tulasne #67 H2H Match data
Aug 23, 1981* QF Stan Smith #37 6-3 6-2 Vitas Gerulaitis #19 — Match data
R16 (7)
Aug 22, 1981* R16 Bob Lutz 6-1 6-4 Rick Fagel #99 — Match data
Aug 22, 1981* R16 Chris Lewis #74 4-6 7-6 6-2 Christophe Roger-Vasselin #84 H2H Match data
Aug 22, 1981* R16 Bill Scanlon #35 6-3 6-2 Nduka Odizor #457 H2H Match data
Aug 22, 1981* R16 Thierry Tulasne #67 1-6 7-6 6-3 Roscoe Tanner #8 H2H Match data
Aug 22, 1981* R16 Raul Ramirez #52 6-4 3-6 6-3 Tomas Smid #25 H2H Match data
Aug 22, 1981* R16 John McEnroe #1 6-3 6-2 Brian Gottfried #18 H2H Match data
Aug 22, 1981* R16 Vitas Gerulaitis #19 7-5 7-6 Jimmy Connors #3 H2H Match data
R32 (16)
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Tomas Smid #25 6-3 6-4 Kevin Curren #44 H2H Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Bob Lutz 6-3 6-2 Francisco Gonzalez #47 — Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 John McEnroe #1 6-3 6-0 Mike Cahill #189 H2H Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Vitas Gerulaitis #19 6-3 6-7 6-1 John Austin — Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Nduka Odizor #457 1-6 7-6 6-2 Bruce Manson #81 H2H Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Rick Fagel #99 6-4 7-5 Harold Solomon #13 H2H Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Roscoe Tanner #8 6-1 5-7 6-4 Jerome Potier #325 H2H Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Tim Gullikson 6-3 5-7 6-4 Jimmy Arias #73 — Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Brian Gottfried #18 6-2 6-3 Lloyd Bourne #292 H2H Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Jimmy Connors #3 6-3 6-0 Russell Simpson #85 H2H Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Chris Lewis #74 6-3 6-2 Raymond Moore #100 H2H Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Christophe Roger-Vasselin #84 2-6 7-5 6-3 Ilie Nastase #78 H2H Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Thierry Tulasne #67 6-4 6-3 Victor Amaya #40 H2H Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Stan Smith #37 6-3 6-4 Marcel Freeman #335 — Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Bill Scanlon #35 6-3 6-3 Ramesh Krishnan — Match data
Aug 20, 1981* R32 Raul Ramirez #52 3-6 6-3 6-2 Brian Teacher #10 H2H Match data
R64 (32)
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Chris Lewis #74 6-3 6-2 John Sadri #21 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Jimmy Connors #3 6-1 6-3 Van Winitsky #79 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Tim Gullikson 3-6 6-4 7-5 Yannick Noah #15 — Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Bob Lutz 7-5 2-6 7-6 Alejandro Cortes #175 — Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Marcel Freeman #335 7-6 6-4 Sherwood Stewart — Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Christophe Roger-Vasselin #84 6-4 6-2 Larry Stefanki #325 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Jerome Potier #325 3-6 6-3 6-4 Jeff Borowiak #65 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 John McEnroe #1 6-4 6-0 Shlomo Glickstein #34 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Harold Solomon #13 6-2 3-6 6-3 Pat Dupre #72 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Stan Smith #37 6-3 6-3 Pascal Portes #49 — Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Raymond Moore #100 7-6 6-3 Paul Avis #356 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Roscoe Tanner #8 6-4 6-2 Bernie Mitton #94 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Kevin Curren #44 6-1 6-4 Tracy Delatte #549 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Nduka Odizor #457 7-6 6-4 Nick Saviano #83 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Francisco Gonzalez #47 7-6 4-6 6-3 Craig Wittus #423 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Raul Ramirez #52 6-1 6-1 Ferdi Taygan #96 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Vitas Gerulaitis #19 4-6 6-3 6-2 Jan Norback #100 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Thierry Tulasne #67 6-1 1-0 (ret.) Curt Stalder #667 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Brian Gottfried #18 6-3 6-2 Mark Edmondson #50 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 John Austin 6-2 6-1 Kevin Kerns #549 — Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Mike Cahill #189 6-4 7-6 John Fitzgerald #53 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Victor Amaya #40 6-3 6-3 Gianni Ocleppo #58 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Ilie Nastase #78 6-1 6-1 Brad Drewett #75 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Bill Scanlon #35 6-4 7-5 Vijay Amritraj #23 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Ramesh Krishnan 6-3 6-3 Per Hjertquist #88 — Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Tomas Smid #25 6-3 6-4 Erik Van Dillen — Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Russell Simpson #85 3-6 6-1 6-2 Dominique Bedel #100 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Brian Teacher #10 7-6 6-2 David Dowlen #423 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Bruce Manson #81 3-6 6-3 6-4 Gene Mayer #7 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Rick Fagel #99 6-4 3-6 6-2 Peter Feigl #93 H2H Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Jimmy Arias #73 6-2 6-4 Tom Gullikson — Match data
Aug 19, 1981* R64 Lloyd Bourne #292 6-3 2-6 7-6 Trey Waltke #60 H2H Match data

Most Titles

PlayerTitles
Roger Federer 7
Mats Wilander 4
Andre Agassi 3
Novak Djokovic 3
Pete Sampras 3

Recent Finals

SeasonSurfaceWinnerScoreRunner-upH2HMatch
2025 Hard Carlos Alcaraz 5-0 (ret.) Jannik Sinner H2H Match data
2024 Hard Jannik Sinner 7-6(4) 6-2 Frances Tiafoe H2H Match data
2023 Hard Novak Djokovic 5-7 7-6(7) 7-6(4) Carlos Alcaraz H2H Match data
2022 Hard Borna Coric 7-6(0) 6-2 Stefanos Tsitsipas H2H Match data
2021 Hard Alexander Zverev 6-2 6-3 Andrey Rublev H2H Match data

View full tournament history →

Related Tournaments

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Other Masters 1000 tournaments in 1981

Previous editions of Cincinnati

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Cincinnati held?
Cincinnati is held in Cincinnati, United States.
Who won the most recent Cincinnati?
The 2025 Cincinnati was won by Carlos Alcaraz 5-0.
Who has won the most Cincinnati titles?
Roger Federer has won 7 Cincinnati titles, the most by any player in the Open Era (since 1968).
When was the first Cincinnati played?
The first edition of Cincinnati was held in 1899.
What surface is Cincinnati played on?
Cincinnati is played on hard courts.