BY MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Marcelo Rios, rubbing his eyes, said he always has trouble against a big server playing under the lights.
(Michael Snyder photo)
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MASON -- Marcelo Rios' new reign as the world's No. 1 tennis player is off to a rocky start.
The 22-year-old from Chile, who had just moved atop the ATP Tour computer rankings Monday, was knocked out of the Great American Insurance ATP Championship a day later by Daniel Vacek.
Vacek, ranked 53rd and a native of Czechoslovakia, made short work of Rios, 6-3, 6-2, in just 62 minutes Tuesday night.
Rios -- No. 1 for four weeks this spring before falling behind Pete Sampras again -- calmly explained that he always has trouble against a big server playing under the lights.
Rios can't reach Vacek's serve.
(Michael Snyder photo)
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"I don't like playing at night," Rios said. "I have a problem seeing the ball. I always mishit a lot of balls. It all depends who you play. I don't think he beat me because he played better; I just missed a lot of shots."
If No. 2-ranked Sampras wins the ATP Championship title, he will regain the No. 1 spot. If he advances to the final, he has a chance to move back into the top spot.
Vacek, 27, dominated his match from the start, and had only a little trouble closing it out. He won on his fourth match point. Vacek was up 40-15 in the final game, then double-faulted twice. On the third match point, Rios drilled a shot past Vacek for the fourth deuce.
Daniel Vacek acknowledges the cheers from the crowd.
(Michael Snyder photo)
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Rios returned the next serve into the net. Finally, Vacek was at the net waiting for a Rios return, and he nailed the winning volley into the left side of Rios' court.
"Maybe it was exciting at the end, but it doesn't make any difference if you're playing No. 1 or 50 or 100," said a low-key Vacek, who had 15 aces.
Vacek advances to the round of 16 against the Wayne Ferreira-Jan Siemerink winner. Vacek also plays doubles tonight with Yevgeny Kafelnikov against Luke and Murphy Jensen.
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