Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 22, 1994 TAG: 9408220028
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Becker, seeded third, didn't drop a set in the tournament, which was plagued by numerous rain delays and a controversy over some of the radical changes the ATP was trying out to improve interest in the sport.
"I really had a dream week here," he said. "Too bad we only had two days of good sunshine."
Becker, a three-time Wimbledon champion and former No. 1 player, was true to his old form all week on his way to his 41st career title and third this year. He also won at at Milan in February and at the Los Angeles Open earlier this month.
Becker, ranked eighth in the world by the ATP, would have moved up to No. 7 regardless of the outcome. He collected $152,000 for the victory, which improved his match record on hardcourt to 11-4 this year and 11-1 since Wimbledon.
In the doubles final, two-time Wimbledon finalists Grant Connell and Patrick Galbraith, the top-seeded team in the tournament and ranked No. 2 in the world, beat second-seeded and third-ranked Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis, 6-4, 7-6.
In other tennis:
Wayne Ferreira took no chance on another thunderstorm.
Ferreira, the No. 7 seed, had to wait more than seven hours because of rain during a semifinal match on Saturday but needed only 59 minutes Sunday to beat Olivier Delaitre 6-2, 6-1 for the RCA Championship, even as dark clouds in Indianapolis threatened another delay.
It was the second-fastest final match on the ATP tour this season.
The unseeded Delaitre, who did not lose a set and had his serve broken only three times in five previous matches in the $1 million tournament, was broken four times by the 22-year-old South African, who is ranked 15th in the world.
Ferreira took advantage of 22 unforced errors by the 27-year-old Frenchman, who was seeking his first tour title and had not faced a seeded player before the championship match.
In Montreal, second-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario withstood four rain delays and four match points to win the Matinee International women's tennis championship, beating top-seeded Steffi Graf 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4).
The victory was worth $150,000 to Sanchez Vicaro, a Spaniard who is second to Graf in the world rankings.
by CNB