Marcelo Rios moved to the top of the South African Airwars Rankings after capturing his second Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD title in three years
It wasn't the way that the Chilean would have wanted to win - his opponent Goran Ivanisevic retired with a left knee at the end of the first set at the BlackRock Tour of Champions event in Portugal.
Rios broke the formidable Ivanisevic serve to take the first set 6-4 when the Croat’s injury meant he was unable to continue.
“I hurt it a little bit against Sergi [Bruguera] on Wednesday, but after the match yesterday against Fernando [Meligeni], we finished at midnight and after that I took therapy for two hours, so maybe that was a mistake because when I woke up, I couldn’t move,” explained Ivanisevic. “Before the match, it was really painful. I played because it was the final, otherwise there’s no way I would play. I was just trying to hit winners, I couldn’t move, and against Marcelo, if you’re not 150% you’ve no chance, he’s too good a player to play against on one leg.”
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Rios, who topped the Caixa Geral de Depositos group with wins over Joao Cunha e Silva, Guillermo Vilas and Chris Wilkinson, became only the second player alongside John McEnroe to win two titles in the Algarve.
“It’s been a great week here,” said Rios, who takes over the No. 1 spot on the South African Airways rankings with his win. “I still say it’s the best tournament of the year. Everybody is so polite and helpful, and the weather has been even better this year.
“Goran told me before the match that he had hurt his knee against Bruguera. He was hitting winners from everywhere at the beginning, he was serving big, but I knew he was injured and that he could play a good couple of games but maybe not a full match. It’s great to play in a final against Goran but it’s unfortunate it had to end on an injury. It’s better for him to take care of his knee.”
For Ivanisevic, who came top of the Vale do Lobo group after victories over Henri Leconte, defending champion Sergi Bruguera and last year’s runner-up Fernando Meligeni, there was still plenty of good things to take from his week’s work.
“I think I played good tennis this week,” said the 2001 Wimbledon champion. “My group was very tough, three very tough guys. I served very good this week and I was happy with the way I played. I always get injured at the wrong time. I’m getting older, so I have to be careful now.”
The Croat’s main aim now is to recover in time for the BlackRock Masters in London in December. “My goal is to be fit for London,” said Ivanisevic. “Pete Sampras is going to play and because of him, I’ve had a lot of nights without sleeping, so I have to get ready for that.”
In the third-place play-off, Bruguera overcame British alternate Chris Wilkinson 6-2, 6-3.
Next, the BlackRock Tour of Champions moves on to Paris, France (September 18-21), where Stefan Edberg will make his long-awaited return to competitive tennis.
Later in the autumn, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Michael Chang and Malivai Washington will make their BlackRock Tour of Champions debuts in Eindhoven (October 2-5), while Edberg, Pete Sampras, John McEnroe and Goran Ivanisevic will clash in London at the Royal Albert Hall (2-7 December).
Thursday: No. 1 Showdown Set in Final
Wednesday: Ivanisevic Steps Closer To Algarve Final After Bruguera Victory
Tuesday: Bruguera Begins Defence In Style; Says Rafa To Stay No. 1
Preview: Bruguera Set To Defend Algarve Title
