The Olympus U.S. Open Series wrapped up yesterday with Caroline Wozniacki's 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Nadia Petrova in the Pilot Pen tournament. This put Wozniacki in the top spot for overall points on the women's side, followed by Kim Clijsters in 2nd place and Svetlana Kuzvetsova in 3rd. On the men's side, Andy Murray is in 1st place, with Roger Federer taking 2nd and Mardy Fish at 3rd.
What does all of this mean for Wozniacki, Murray and any of the other top U.S. Open Series winners? Well, the explanation from the Olympus U.S. Open Series website is:
The Olympus US Open Series Bonus Challenge links the performance of the top three men’s and top three women’s finishers at Series events to their performance at the US Open. In 2010, the Olympus US Open Series Men’s and Women’s Champions will compete for up to an additional $1 million in Bonus Prize Money.
For example, if Caroline Wozniacki wins the U.S. Open, she wins $1,000,000 in bonus prize money because of her Series win. If she finishes second at the Open, she gets $500,000 in bonus money and with a third place Open finish, she gets an extra $250,000. So winning the Series puts players in contention for some serious bonus bucks, ups the publicity and focus they receive going into the Open and, I guess, makes tennis a lot more interesting overall.
By the way, I love this photo of Wozniacki after her Pilot Pen win. She looks fresh, happy and ab fab in her Stella McCartney tennis gear. I'm sure we'll be seeing lots of this at the upcoming U.S. Open as she's sure to be in it right up to the end (battling for that million dollar bonus!).
Photo by Matthew Stockman, Getty Images
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