Nadal and Dinara Safina to Compete for Largest Payout in Tennis History at US Open -- $2.5 Million
Andy Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro Clinch Second and Third Place Respectively; Marion Bartoli Clinches Second Place in Women’s Bonus Challenge
August 20, 2008 – World No. 1 Rafael Nadal clinched the 2008 Olympus US Open Series men’s title and, along with the 2008 Olympus US Open Series women’s champion Dinara Safina, will compete for the largest payout in tennis history at the 2008 US Open -- $2.5 million ($1.5 million for winning the US Open and a $1 million bonus for winning the US Open and the Olympus US Open Series).
Andy Murray tied Nadal in the Olympus US Open Series Bonus Challenge Standings at 145 points, but Nadal wins the title by virtue of the OUSOS head-to-head tiebreaker (Nadal defeated Murray in the semifinals at the Rogers Masters in Toronto en route to the tournament title). He also advanced to the semifinals of Cincinnati.
On the women’s side, Dinara Safina won Olympus US Open Series events in Los Angeles and Montreal to earn 170 points and the Series title. Marion Bartoli has clinched second place while world No. 11 Anna Chakvetadze is still competing in New Haven for a chance to overtake Dominika Cibulkova for third place.
The Olympus US Open Series Bonus Challenge leaderboard through August 20 is as follows:
* Nadal clinched 2008 Olympus US Open Series men’s title ^ Safina clinched 2008 Olympus US Open Series women’s title
** Murray clinched second place ^^ Bartoli clinched second place
*** Del Potro clinched third
The Olympus US Open Series concludes this week at the combined men’s and women’s Pilot Pen Tennis event in New Haven. On Saturday, August 23, the women’s final will air on CBS beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET and the men’s final will air on ESPN2 beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET. ESPN2 provides a total of 14 hours of coverage throughout the entire week.
Second and third place finishers of the Olympus US Open Series will also compete for bonus prize money at the US Open. Second place Olympus US Open Series finishers can win an additional $500,000 bonus if they win the US Open. Third place Olympus US Open Series finishers can win an addition $250,000 bonus if they win the US Open.
The 2008 Olympus US Open Series marks the fifth year of the Series which links 10 summer tournaments to the US Open, creating a cohesive, six-week summer tennis season for ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour professional tournaments in North America. In 2008, Olympus became the first title sponsor of the Series. The Olympus US Open Series is also supported by sponsors American Express, Evian, MassMutual Financial Group, Valspar Paint, and Wolf Blass Wines.
Roger Federer won the 2007 Olympus US Open Series men’s title and Maria Sharapova won the women’s title. Federer went on to win the US Open and collected the $1.4 million winner’s check plus the $1 million OUSOS bonus payment for a record $2.4 million payout -- the largest in tennis history.
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For more information contact:
Chris Widmaier, Senior Director, Public Relations, Pro Tennis
914-696-7284; widmaier@usta.com
Tim Curry, Director, Public Relations, Pro Tennis
914-696-7077; curry@usta.com