Rios Wins 2nd Senior Title at Hong Kong

"I'm playing for the first time in two years and I feel pretty tired, but good. There is a bit more entertainment on this tour and I feel more relaxed -- you can see that on the court," said Rios, who has yet to face American big-hitters Jim Courier and John McEnroe. "I haven't played McEnroe before and he's the one I'm waiting for. It's going to be nice to play him. Just tell him to get ready, because he's going to have a tough, tough time against me."

Muster is now 0-2 against Rios in 2006.

"He's too good for us at the moment, but it's always good when younger players come on the tour because it means that all the guys have to move up another level, train more and stay in shape if we want to compete with him, and we will," Muster said.

Cedric Pioline beat Henri Leconte 6-3, 6-4, for a third-place finish.

The next Merrill Lynch event will be April 20-23 in Barcelona.

Rios' effort for the week breaks a tie with Jim Courier and gives him sole possession of No. 1 on the Tennis-X.com Combined Senior Rankings, while Pioline jumps to No. 2, knocking Courier to No. 3.

From the current point standings, Rios looks well on his way to his pre-season-voiced desire to finish No. 1 on the year-end senior tour rankings.

2006 TENNIS-X.COM TOP 10 COMBINED SENIOR RANKINGS
(Top 10, through April 9)

1. Marcelo Rios (800 pts.)
2. Cedric Pioline (450)
3. Jim Courier (400)
4. Pat Cash (390)
5. Thomas Muster (375)
6. Henri Leconte (205)
7T. Richard Krajicek (200)
7T. John McEnroe (200)
9. Mikael Pernfors (125)
10T. Sergi Bruguera (80)
10T. Aaron Krickstein (80)
10T. Mats Wilander (80)
10T. Mark Woodforde (80)

The Tennis-X.com Combined Senior Rankings is a cumulative ranking for senior tour players combining results from the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions in Europe, and the Outback Champions Series in the U.S.