Big paydays
Williams, Rios top-dollar winners at Grand Slam Cup
Posted: Sunday October 04, 1998 04:47 PM
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Rios beat Agassi for the Grand Slam Cup, but did it in severe pain AP |
MUNICH, Germany (AP) -- Marcelo Rios can soothe his aching back with a $1.3 million paycheck.
Wincing in pain and on the verge of quitting early on, Rios persevered Sunday to beat a weary Andre Agassi in five sets and capture the Grand Slam Cup for the richest prize in tennis.
"I was going to retire, but the trainer told me to give it one more chance," Rios said.
Venus Williams won the inaugural women's edition of the tournament, using a big serve to overpower Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 and earn $800,000.
"She really wanted this title, and I really wanted this title, too," Williams said.
Rios looked as if he would retire but the Chilean recovered to win 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 6-3.
"Even if I was not feeling good, I played one of my best matches," he said. "I'm really proud I can win a match like that."
Added Agassi: "I didn't really believe he was close to defaulting. I felt he ran incredibly well. He is very talented."
Agassi, now No. 8 after falling from the top 100 last year, seemed worn out by nearly seven hours of tennis in two days. He needed 3 hours, 40 minutes to beat Karol Kucera in the semifinals, while Rios had a three-set win over Mark Philippoussis.
"I wasn't feeling that good all day," said Agassi, who earned $650,000. "It's hard to recover in 15 hours or so."
The $6.7 million tournament, the richest in tennis, tries to feature players with the best records in the year's four Grand Slam events.
But three men Grand Slam champions elected not to show for the event, which awards no ranking points. Agassi received a wild card in an attempt to give some luster to the men's field.
Rios, the Australian Open runner-up who briefly overtook Pete Sampras at No. 1 this year, said his back started hurting the night before the match.
"But you don't want to go home without a final like this, playing Andre," Rios said.
The Chilean, the highest-ranked player in the event at No. 3, was given a massage by a trainer after the third game and took an injury timeout two games later. He stretched on the floor for a few minutes while the trainer worked on his back.
But he still won the set, hitting a running backhand passing shot. Agassi won the next set, although Rios produced one of its highlights: winning a point while sitting on the floor after slipping and falling.
Rios won five of his six service games in the third set at love, but his fourth set was far less crisp.
Serving to save the match in the fifth, Agassi double-faulted to give Rios three match points. Agassi saved one, but then committed another double-fault.
Asked what he would do with his big prize, Rios said he would put it in the bank.
"I'm not the type of guy who buys houses or cars," he said.
Williams broke serve for a 4-2 lead in the final set and served out the match. The 18-year-old American, ranked No. 5 in the world, said she wasn't thinking about the big payday.
"It's a nice prize pool but generally when you're playing here you are trying to win your matches," she said.
Schnyder, who earned $400,000, said she had trouble reading Williams' shots.
"It's hard to assess her balls coming high and low," she said. "You make a lot of mistakes. Her serve was sometimes too fast for me, even her second."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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