No Stiff, Agassi Wins Title by a Neck

Goran Ivanisevic lost a match in his sleep Sunday, giving Andre Agassi a tainted title.

On the morning of their final at the Lipton Championships, Ivanisevic woke up with a stiff neck. He underwent three hours of treatment and tried to play but quit in the fourth game.

“To beat Andre you have to be 105%, and I was maybe 2%,” Ivanisevic said.

The tournament doctor said Ivanisevic probably slept wrong, and the ailment is unlikely to bother him for more than a few days.

Agassi, also the Lipton champion in 1990 and 1995, became the first player to win three men’s titles at Key Biscayne. He received $338,000 following the 10-minute match, and Ivanisevic settled for $178,000--not bad for a pain in the neck.

“It’s really a shame,” Agassi said after winning his first title since August. “Goran is obviously playing the best tennis right now on the tour. Today was a big day for me--I really wanted to come out here and get it on. And it didn’t happen.

“It’s a disappointing way to win the title and for the tournament to end.”

Coincidentally, Agassi was involved in a similar situation two years ago.

The start of that match was delayed an hour because finalist Pete Sampras was nauseated. Agassi agreed to the delay even though the rules permitted him to win in a walkover when Sampras was unable to take the court at the scheduled time.

Sampras went on to defeat Agassi in three sets.

Agassi again declined to accept a walkover Sunday, and the start of the match was delayed about 45 minutes while Ivanisevic received treatment.

When the players finally took the court, Ivanisevic was clearly hampered. His first serve was clocked at 80 mph--two-thirds his normal pace--and he was unable to hit his two-handed backhand because he couldn’t turn his head.