Sampras, Rafter Cash In

Thu., Sept. 25, 1997

Compiled From Wire Services

Dipping into the richest pot in tennis, Pete Sampras earned $750,000 and Patrick Rafter took home $500,000 for merely winning opening matches at the $6 million Grand Slam Cup.

Sampras struggled past Spain’s Felix Mantilla 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 and Rafter downed Austria’s Thomas Muster 6-2, 6-3 in an event featuring the 16 players who fared best in this year’s Grand Slam tournaments.

The tournament champion earns $1.5 million, with $250,000 bonuses awarded to each winner of the four Grand Slam events. First-round losers get $100,000.

Sampras won $500,000 in bonus money for victories in the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He is 13-3 in the Grand Slam Cup, and of his some $27.5 million in career earnings almost 20 percent have come from this tournament.

Swedish Davis Cup hero Jonas Bjorkman ousted defending champion Boris Becker 6-3, 6-2 and Petr Korda of the Czech Republic beat French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten 6-3, 5-3 after the Brazilian withdrew because of a sprained ankle.

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Sampras, Rafter Cash In

Jesse Tinsley

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