Open men's final TV ratings lowest since '98

NEW YORK (AP) -- The rain-hampered U.S. Open ended with the least-watched men's final since 1998.

Andy Roddick's 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3 victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain on Sunday afternoon drew a 3.5 preliminary national rating on CBS. That means an average of 3.5 percent of the country's TV homes tuned in at any given moment.

It was the first Grand Slam final for Roddick, a 21-year-old American.

The rating represents a 44 percent drop from the 6.2 rating last year, when Pete Sampras beat longtime rival Andre Agassi in four sets for his 14th major title.

Sampras or Agassi played in the Open's championship match each of the past four years. The last time neither did was in 1998, when Patrick Rafter beat Mark Philippoussis in an all-Australian final, and the rating was 2.7.

The women's final Saturday between Justine Henin-Hardenne and fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters had a preliminary national rating of 2.5. That was a 52 percent drop from 2002, when Serena Williams beat older sister Venus.