To understand how improbable it was to see Andre Agassi playing Rafael Nadal in yesterday’s final at the Rogers Masters in Montreal, consider that when Agassi won his first professional title in 1987 in Itaparica, Brazil, at the age of 17, Nadal was 18 months old.

It’s not often that tennis players last that long, never mind hold up well enough to take on the latest teenage sensation in a final at one of the two most taxing warm-up tournaments leading up to the U.S. Open. It was their first meeting, and in many ways Agassi could see his reflection in Nadal.

A young Agassi reinvented tennis by hugging the baseline and striking balls a moment after the bounce; the 19-year-old Nadal is doing the same, except with tight spin and impossible angles. Agassi once caused a fashion upheaval with denim shorts and hot pink spandex; Nadal prefers short pants (clam diggers) and cutoff shirts that show off his hulking biceps. In terms of competitive spirit, the two are kindred souls.

After Nadal’s 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 victory, they are now similar on paper, too. Agassi won 10 titles as a teenager. For Nadal, his first hard-court title was the tenth of his career, including nine this year (the other eight this season, and one last season, were on clay, including this year’s French Open).

Despite the resemblance, however, there is no comparing a teenage Agassi to Nadal. The Spaniard is far superior. By the look of things, Nadal will race past Agassi’s youthful accomplishments before he turns 20 next June. He’ll almost certainly pass Mats Wilander – second among teens with 13 titles – and will even have an outside chance at besting the top teen of all time, Bjorn Borg (16).

At 19, Agassi was a great talent who lacked the discipline and conditioning that would later come to define his career. Nadal is already a fully formed champion. He has the genes of a soccer star, impeccable strokes, and a stunning physique. He moves better than anyone on tour, plays the best defense, and strikes the ball on the run as well as any player ever has. As rallies lengthen, Nadal becomes unpredictable and uncontainable.

This was on full display yesterday in the seventh game of the second set, when in one 21-stroke rally – after a bad call forced Nadal to replay a deuce point – the Spaniard hit two lunging two-hand backhands, changed the pace with three slow slice backhands, then looped a few balls before belting a backhand winner down the line. He was not in control of the point until the last shot, but for Nadal, incredible defense usually creates a chance to start the point over and then win it.

And even when Nadal is on the defensive, he is capable of incredible offense. One point after he lulled Agassi to sleep and hit that pretty backhand winner, he scrambled to slice back a wide forehand, then lunged for a backhand crosscourt. Agassi hit a forehand volley a bit too soft, but probably good enough to get past most players.

Not Nadal. He reached the ball just before its second bounce, firing a forehand winner up the line. As the crowd cheered, Agassi retreated to the baseline with a grin on his face.

Despite a poor start, Agassi put up a good fight before Nadal took control in the third. Agassi is famous for dictating points – it often looks as if he is an instructor, standing in the middle of the court as his pupils scurry about – but he could not push Nadal around in the first set. The Spaniard imparts so much spin on the ball that timing – even for Agassi – becomes difficult. As shot after shot jumped off the court, Agassi made numerous uncharacteristic errors.

In the second set, Agassi served well and took more chances. He also retreated a few steps on Nadal’s serve, giving him more time to wait for the high-bouncing ball to fall into a more comfortable hitting zone.

Oddly, it was the mental game where Nadal proved to be the strongest, at least for a few moments in the third set. Down a break and serving at 1-3 after a double fault, Agassi complained that Nadal was taking too much time between points, slowly toweling off before stepping up to return. When Agassi asked chair umpire Lars Graf to do something, he said Nadal had 20 seconds. The youngster took his time, and broke Agassi again.

Will Nadal win another 50 titles in his career, as Agassi has done since his teenage years? It’s doubtful; in terms of longevity, Agassi is the rarest of players, a Jimmy Connors in an age where tennis is more athletic – and more demanding – than it has ever been. For now, though, Nadal is one Grand Slam title away from having the best season on tour. He’s already won more titles this year than Roger Federer, who this week makes his summer debut in a Masters Series event in Cincinnati, beginning tonight on ESPN2 against James Blake. Nadal, now comfortably perched at no. 2 in the world, will be looking for another trophy on the road to greatness.

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When Kim Clijsters raced to the stadium wall yesterday like a centerfielder, Larry Scott, the chief executive of the women’s tour, would have been within his rights to fall out of his chair. In a summer of injuries, losing Clijsters would have been a crushing blow.

Thankfully, the Belgian came away unscathed, bouncing off some plants as she spectacularly returned a Daniela Hantuchova overhead. She went on to win 6-4, 6-1 for her fifth title of the year, 6-4, 6-1.

As Clijsters regains her form, her colleagues are crumbling. Lindsay Davenport has played one tournament since the Wimbledon final, and she had to retire with a back injury. Serena Williams has not played since losing at Wimbledon. Maria Sharapova had to forfeit her quarterfinal match in Los Angeles after suffering a pectoral strain, and she will not play the Rogers Cup this week in Toronto. Nonetheless, the Russian will gain the no. 1 ranking, as the injured Davenport cannot protect her spot.