Rios Breezes To Lipton Title

March 29, 1998 / 6:05 PM EST / AP

Chileans came by the planeload, and hundreds of them filled the top rows Sunday at the Lipton Championships. They chanted and cheered for Marcelo Rios to beat Andre Agassi and overtake Pete Sampras, and that's what he did.

While he raucous sellout crowd of 14,000 exchanged shouts of "Chi-le! Chi-le!" and "U-S-A! U-S-A!," Rios rose to the occasion with a near-flawless performance. He dominated Agassi 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 to win Lipton and claim the No. 1 ranking from Sampras.

Not bad for a guy carrying a nation's expectations on his shoulders.

"Being the best player in the world for Chile is something, like, not normal," Rios said. "I feel proud."

The 22-year-old Santiago native is the first South American to be No. 1 since the ATP Tour rankings began in 1973.

Until this year, Rios was known primarily for ill-mannered behavior that made him unpopular with other players and the media. But he smiled Sunday and threw his racket only once, tossing it happily into the stands after winning match point.

The former bad boy is now the best.

Rios, who entered the tournament at No. 3, will end Sampras' streak of 102 consecutive weeks at No. 1 when the new rankings come out Monday. Sampras lost in the third round at Lipton to Wayne Ferreira.

Critics contend that Rios' ranking is tainted because he hasn't won a Grand Slam. Agassi said Rios deserves No. 1 for now.

"How everybody does in the Grand Slams is going to determine ultimately the end-of-the-year ranking," Agassi said. "He'll have to win a slam this year to be No. 1 in the players' eyes."

Rios, the runner-up at the Australian Open in January, is only the second player to reach No. 1 without having won a major tournament. The other was Ivan Lendl in 1983, who went on to win eight Grand Slams.

Rios acknowledged that his edge over Sampras and other top players is slim and tenuous.

"Maybe at this moment I'm playing better than anyone," he said. "But I don't feel like I'm really good. Everyone has a chance to beat me."

The 5-foot-9 left-hander gave Agassi no chance, though, in the first meeting between the two. Rios controlled the rallies, and his deceptive serve neutralized Agassi, who has perhaps the best return in the history of the game.

"He played better than I expected," Agassi said. "His serve was better than I was expecting."

Several charter planes made the nine-hour flight from Chile bringing fans for the final, and they began chanting and singing an hour before the match. The Davis Cup-type atmosphere inspired Rios, who took a quick 3-0 lead.

Agassi pulled even at 5-5, but he double-faulted to lose the first set and failed to reach break point on Rios' serve in the final two sets.

During one stretch of seven service games, Rios lost only seven points, and his mastery at the baseline was so complete that he twice won pints with broken strings. He looked relaxed from start to finish.

"I slept good last night," he said. "I felt good with a lot of confidence and believing in my game, not thinking that I can lose. And if I didn't win, it was going to be OK."

The most prestigious title of Rios' career earned him $360,000. He has won 11 consecutive matches, and his 25-3 record this year is the best on the tour.

Agassi received $190,000 and climbed to 22nd in the rankings, continuing a resurgence that began in November, when he was No. 141.

"It was a tournament that took me in the right direction," Agassi said. "But I'm starting to think about winning these now. So it's still disappointing."

In the women's doubles final, Martina Hingis and Jana Novotna beat Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Natasha Zvereva 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.