Grand Slam Cup ( English Grand Slam Cup ) - an annual tennis tournament held from 1990 to 1999 in Munich ( Germany ) by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) with the participation of tennis players who showed the best results in Grand Slam tournaments of the corresponding season.
| Grand Slam Cup | |
|---|---|
| A place carrying out | Munich Germany |
| Coating | Carpet (I) |
| ATP World Tour | |
| Category | Not |
| WTA World Tour | |
| Category | Not |
Content
History
The tournament was organized by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) as part of the fight against the growing influence of the Association of Professional Tennis Players (APR). The large fees and guaranteed payments in the ATP tour tournaments made ITF-controlled Grand Slam tournaments less attractive for leading male tennis players, and the federation decided to ensure their participation and desire to compete successfully in these competitions by introducing a final tournament guaranteeing unprecedented high time prize [1] .
The tournament was first held in December 1990 . In recent years, the date has been moved to late September - early October. Although from the first year of the tournament the ITF organized it only for men, it caused sharp criticism from the representatives of women's tennis. Already in 1989, the Executive Director of the Women's Tennis Association Jerry Smith emphasized: “They (ITF) seem to believe that since men tried to leave them out of work, they can ignore us” [2] . Nevertheless, until 1997, only men participated in the tournament, and only in the last two years, the women's Grand Slam Cup was played at the same time as the men. The tournament was held on carpet on indoor courts using a simple Olympic system . In the first two circles, matches were played up to two victories in sets, in the semifinals and finals - up to three, without a tie-break in the decisive set.
The tournament prize pool was one of the largest in the world at that time. The winner was guaranteed to receive $ 1.5 million, but if the tournament was won by a tennis player who has already won at least one Grand Slam tournament this season, then the first prize will increase to 2.5 million. The total prize pool of the tournament in the first year was $ 6 million, of which the winner, Pete Sampras , received two million - twice as much as the winner of the tennis tournament had ever received before [3] . At the same time, the tournament was not recognized by the Association of Professional Tennis Players (ATP) and participation in it did not bring points to the ATP rating . The title of winner of the Grand Slam Cup was recognized by the APR only retroactively, after the tournament ceased to be held.
As a result of a compromise between Asia-Pacific and ITF , in 1999 the Grand Slam Cup was combined with the ATP World Tour Championship, also held annually in Germany, forming the Masters Cup . Then it was decided to stop holding the Women's Grand Slam Cup. Until now, the fact of unification has been recorded in the regulations of the Masters Cup, which guarantees the participation in the final tournament to the winner of the Grand Slam tournament this season even if he is not among the eight holders of the highest ATP rating. In this case, he falls into the number of participants in the tournament due to the holder of the eighth rating. The rule was applied at the 2004 Masters Cup , when Andre Agassi , the eighth in the world in rating, was forced to give up his place in the tournament to the winner of the French Open, Gaston Gaudio , who took tenth place in the rating [4] . In 2007, according to the same rule, the ninth pair of the world Arno Clement - Mikael Llodra was admitted to the Masters Cup, who won the Wimbledon tournament before this [5] .
Participation and draw
Participation in the Grand Slam Cup and the place in the draw were not associated with the ATP rating. The tournament was attended by 16 best tennis players (in the last two years - 12 men and 8 women) following the results of four Grand Slam tournaments, determined using a special points system. The winner of the Grand Slam tournament received 600 points, the finalist 450, the semi-finalist 300, the quarter-finalist 150; 75 points were awarded for participation in the 1/8 finals, 40 points for the 1/16 finals, 20 for participation in the second round and 2 points for participation in the first round.
Tournament Winners and Finalists
Men
| 1990 | Pete Sampras | Brad Gilbert | 6–3, 6–4, 6–2 |
| 1991 | David Wheaton | Michael Chang | 7–5, 6–2, 6–4 |
| 1992 | Michael Stich | Michael Chang | 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 |
| 1993 | Peter Korda | Michael Stich | 2–6, 6–4, 7–6 (5), 2–6, 11–9 |
| 1994 | Magnus Larsson | Pete Sampras | 7–6 (6), 4–6, 7–6 (5), 6–4 |
| 1995 | Goran Ivanishevich | Todd Martin | 7–6 (4), 6–3, 6–4 |
| 1996 | Boris Becker | Goran Ivanishevich | 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 |
| 1997 | Pete Sampras | Patrick rafter | 6–2, 6–4, 7–5 |
| 1998 | Marcelo Rios | Andre Agassi | 6–4, 2–6, 7–6 (1), 5–7, 6–3 |
| 1999 | Greg Rusedsky | Tommy Haas | 6–3, 6–4, 6–7 (5), 7–6 (5) |
Women
| 1998 | Venus Williams | Patti Schnyder | 6–2, 3–6, 6–2 |
| 1999 | Serena Williams | Venus Williams | 6–1, 3–6, 6–3 |
See also
- Masters Cup
- WCT Final Tournament
- Grand Slam Tournaments (Tennis)
Notes
- ↑ John Feinstein. Hard Courts: Real Life on the Professional Tennis Tours . - New York: Villard Books, 1992. - P. 63-64. - ISBN 978-0-307-80096-1 .
- ↑ Feinstein, 1992 , p. 105.
- ↑ Merrell Noden. Grand Sham (inaccessible link) . Sports Illustrated (December 24, 1990). Date of treatment April 10, 2014. Archived on April 13, 2014.
- ↑ Masters Cup field . BBC (November 14, 2004). Date of treatment April 10, 2014.
Henman, Safin, Coria clinch trips to Houston . ESPN (November 1, 2004). Date of treatment April 10, 2014. - ↑ Fernando Gonzalez Clinches Tennis Masters Cup Berth . Tennisnews.com. Date of treatment April 10, 2014.