BOTTOM LINE : No Rest for Weary When It’s Showtime

NEW YORK — Here was Boris Becker’s schedule in the U.S Open this week:

1. Play a fourth-round match Sunday.

2. Take two days days off.

3. Play a quarterfinal match Wednesday.

4. Take two days off.

5. Play a semifinal match Saturday.

6. Play the final Sunday, assuming he wins in the semifinals.

If you noticed a lack of days off between No. 5 and No. 6, so did he.

“To be honest, I think it’s a joke,” Becker said. “It’s obviously for TV reasons, you know, for the bottom line--money. They don’t really care too much for the players.”

CBS has owned the television rights to the U.S. Open for 22 years and believes it is good programming to show both the men’s semifinals and the women’s final Saturday.

The three other Grand Slam events--the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon--have the women’s semifinals on Thursday, the men’s semifinals on Friday, the women’s final on Saturday and the men’s final on Sunday.

Becker said: “People should think about it a little bit. We are here to play great tennis and not for the money.”

The champion wins $300,000.