Stress Fracture in Back Forces Rios to Withdraw

Marcelo Rios of Chile exited the Australian Open on Monday without playing a single point because of a stress fracture in his lower back.

The injury is the latest in a series of physical problems to hit the 1998 Australian Open finalist in a relatively short period. He has been advised to rest for up to six weeks and is doubtful for two other key tournaments, Indian Wells, Calif., and Key Biscayne, Fla.

Rios’ withdrawal is a notable loss for the Australian Open, which already is missing top-ranked Pete Sampras, who skipped the tournament because of exhaustion.

Sampras’ departure had paved the way for Rios to receive the top seeding in a Grand Slam event for the first time but an MRI on Monday revealed the small stress fracture. In the weeks leading to this tournament, the Chilean had been troubled by an injured hamstring, which forced him to withdraw from his first match at Auckland, New Zealand.

“There is a good chance he will be playing in March,” said tournament doctor David Bolzonello, who conducted the MRI scans. “But I would expect that would be middle, late March, all going well. He really needs three or four weeks to rest, as long as his symptoms don’t return.

” . . . [The stress fracture] is very, very small and even though it’s his vertebra and and it sounds dramatic, it will heal as well as if he had broken his finger in three or four weeks as long as he looks after it.”

Because Rios reached the final here last year, he will be losing a great deal of computer points, dropping him from No. 2 in the world to at least No. 5.

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And now, a Jeff Tarango-John McEnroe update . . .

First, Tarango, of Manhattan Beach, was feeling pretty good on the Australian Open’s opening day, having worn down the usually tireless Alberto Berasategui of Spain, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 6-7 (7-4), 6-4, 4-1 (retired).

Berasategui, who reached the quarterfinals here last year, was suffering from cramps and blisters.

“I consider him to be the fitness monster of the tour,” Tarango said. “He’s just an animal. Everybody in the locker room respects him for his fitness and how hard he makes you work against him. So I gained a little respect with this. If you can outlast him, you can outlast anybody.”

In December, Tarango challenged McEnroe to a singles match, vowing to put up $200,000 of his own money after McEnroe said he could still beat most of the players on the tour on a given day.

On Monday, according to Tarango, McEnroe’s agent said McEnroe might be ready to play in July.

“All the guys are really supporting me,” Tarango said. “The only one I’ve heard isn’t supporting me is Andre [Agassi], who bet $100,000 I would lose to him. That’s just the word he gave me.

“But Rios came up to me and said he’ll back that 100. He’ll back my 100 against Andre’s 100.” (Actually, the biggest surprise is that Rios talked to another player.)

Tarango, who said Sampras and Jim Courier want courtside seats, doesn’t mind that Agassi is in the McEnroe camp.

“That’s all right,” Tarango said. “He [Andre] has got to support John. They’re really tight. That’s fine, Andre is a charitable guy. He likes to give money away.”

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The Australian Open wouldn’t be complete without an update on the acrimony between the Aussies, rising star Mark Philippoussis and Davis Cup captain John Newcombe. Pat Cash, who is coaching Philippoussis, said in a television interview that his player “despised” Newcombe, who will direct the Australian team against Zimbabwe.

“I think it takes a lot of guts for a guy like Mark to go to Zimbabwe, to go away from his home, to be on the court with a captain who clearly doesn’t respect him, and he [Philippoussis] doesn’t respect the captain,” Cash said.