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| Nickname(s) | El Chino, El zurdo de Vitacura | |
|---|---|---|
| Country |  Chile |
|
| Residence | Santiago, Chile | |
| Date of birth | December 26, 1975 | |
| Place of birth | Santiago, Chile | |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |
| Weight | 73 kg (160 lb; 11.5 st) | |
| Turned pro | 1994 | |
| Retired | 2004 | |
| Plays | Left-handed; two-handed backhand | |
| Career prize money | $9,713,771 | |
| Singles | ||
| Career record | 391 - 192 | |
| Career titles | 18 | |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (March 30, 1998) | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| Australian Open | F (1998) | |
| French Open | QF (1998, 1999) | |
| Wimbledon | 4R (1997) | |
| US Open | QF (1997) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record | 36 - 57 | |
| Career titles | 1 | |
| Highest ranking | 141 (May 7, 2001) | |
| Last updated on: April 17, 2007. | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pan American Games | ||
| Silver | 2003 Santo Domingo | Men's Singles |
| Silver | 2003 Santo Domingo | Men's Doubles |
Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga (born December 26, 1975) is a retired and former World No. 1 tennis player from Chile. Nicknamed El Chino ("The Chinese") and El zurdo de Vitacura ("The lefty from Vitacura"), he became the first Latin American player to reach the top position on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles rankings in 1998. He held the World No. 1 ranking for six weeks. He also has held the top ranking in juniors and seniors. He was the first player in tennis history to win the three clay-court Masters Series tournaments (Monte Carlo, Rome, and Hamburg). He is the only male player in the open era to have held the World No. 1 ranking despite never winning a Grand Slam singles tournament.
He retired prematurely in 2004, after being overtaken by a back injury. He played his last ATP level tournament while only 27 years old at the 2003 French Open.
Contents |
Tennis career
Early years
Ríos began playing tennis at the age of 11 at the Sport Française country club in Vitacura (Greater Santiago), adjacent to his house. He was soon recognized for his talented left-hand and reserved personality.
Juniors
In 1993, Ríos became the first male player from Latin America to be ranked world number one in juniors. That year, he won the boys' singles title at the US Open and his first satellite tournament in Chile.
ATP Tour
1994
Ríos turned professional in 1994 and quickly began to acquire international fame after his participation at Roland Garros, where in the second round, at just 18 years of age, he confronted Pete Sampras, fighting a hard battle to lose 6-7, 6-7, 4-6. His great left-handed ability, plus his novel long hair and backwards visor, drew the attention of the media, marking his first step towards international stardom. That same year he won his first challenger in Dresden, Germany.
1995
In May 1995, aged 19, Ríos won his first tournament title in Bologna defeating Marcelo Filippini of Uruguay 6-2, 6-4, and breaking into the world's top fifty for the first time. Then in June he won at Amsterdam in both singles (against Jan Siemerink, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4) and doubles (with Sjeng Schalken) and won the tournament in Kuala Lumpur against Mark Philippoussis 7-6, 6-2. He also reached the final of his home country's ATP tournament in Santiago de Chile. Ríos ended the year ranked No. 25 in the world.
1996
Ríos's achievements this year included stellar performances in the Masters Series (then called Super 9) tournaments. He reached the quarterfinals in Stuttgart and the Masters Series of Rome, and the semifinals in Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, and Canada. In Sankt Polten, Austria, he won his fourth career title by defeating the Spaniard Felix Mantilla 6-1, 6-4. Ríos again reached the final in Santiago de Chile (where a sort of curse seemed to deny him victory in front of his home crowd), and also reached the finals in Barcelona and Scottsdale. For much of the year Ríos would be ranked in the top ten, becoming the first Chilean in history to do so. He finished the year ranked number 11.
1997
In 1997 Ríos for the first time reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament at the Australia Open and again at the US Open. He also won the Super 9 tournament at Monte Carlo; after a first round bye, he beat Andrea Gaudenzi, Albert Costa, Carlos Moya, Magnus Larsson, and, in the final, Alex Corretja, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Two weeks later he lost in the final of the Rome Masters against the same Spaniard. Other successes for the year included the quarterfinals (again) in the Madrid Masters and the finals in Marseille, Boston, and (for the third time) in Santiago. Ríos went as high as No. 6 during the year, and ended the year in the top ten for the first time, being No. 10.
1998: World No.1
The year 1998 brought the peak of the career of Ríos, who reached the number 1 spot in the world. The year began with success. He won the open tournament (the first of the year) in Auckland, New Zealand, against Richard Fromberg, then reached the final of the Australia Open, falling to Petr Korda (who months later would be sanctioned by the ATP for testing positive for nandrolone in a doping test). The following months brought successes such as the title of the Super 9 (the current Masters Series) at Indian Wells, where he defeated hard-serving Greg Rusedski in the final.
The consummation came in the final Super 9 at Key Biscayne, Florida, under the guidance of his coach Larry Stefanki. After victories over Hendrik Dreekman, Tommy Haas, and Goran Ivanišević, Ríos beat Thomas Enqvist in the quarterfinals and Tim Henman in the semis. In the final on March 29, Ríos defeated Andre Agassi 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. In Chile, thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate the triumph of the first Chilean to reach the sport's number one ranking, grabbing the position from Pete Sampras (who had maintained 102 consecutive weeks at number one, and 5 years ending the season as the leader). In the days ahead, there was a crowded reception leading Ríos to former president Eduardo Frei on the balcony of La Moneda, with ten thousand people cheering outside the palace. Ríos's number one ranking lasted four weeks; he lost it after being unable to defend the title at Monte Carlo because of an injury suffered in the Davis Cup while defeating Hernán Gumy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. On August 10, however, Ríos recovered the number one spot for another two weeks. During this extraordinary season Marcelo also won the Rome Masters against Albert Costa in the final, Saint Poelten beating Vincent Spadea, the Grand Slam Cup against Andre Agassi, and Singapore against Mark Woodforde. Furthermore, he reached the quarterfinals in the Madrid and Paris Masters. The year 1998 was a milestone in the career of Marcelo and the sports history of Chile. Ríos won 7 titles, including 3 Masters Series, and reached the (controversial) final of the Australian Open. On July 27 of that year, he reached the maximum number of points achieved throughout his career: 3719 (by the scoring system used prior to the year 2000). He ended the year ranked No. 2 behind Pete Sampras, who topped the world rankings for a sixth consecutive year.
1999
Ríos maintained a high level throughout 1999, although his game was interrupted by repeated injuries and surgeries. This prevented him from defending the points achieved by reaching the final of the Australian Open the previous year, so he fell several positions in the rankings. He reached the final of the Monte Carlo Masters, but, after winning the first two sets, had to retire due to a new injury, awarding the tournament to Gustavo Kuerten. Ríos subsequently won the Hamburg Masters in a match that lasted more than four hours against Mariano Zabaleta; 2 weeks later he became champion in Sankt Pölten for the third consecutive time. In October, he won at Singapore and reached the final in Beijing, losing to the Swede Magnus Norman. He also reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and the Madrid Masters. Despite the many injuries and surgeries he suffered, Ríos would complete his third consecutive year as a Top Ten player, at the No. 9 world ranking.
2000
This year was marked by repeated and disabling injuries that would prevent Ríos from staying among the top players in the world. He won the tournament of Umag, Croatia beating the Argentine Mariano Puerta in the final. Ríos also reached the semifinals at the Hamburg Masters losing to Marat Safin, one of the new stars of the circuit. Ríos finished the year No. 37 in the world.
2001
In 2001 Ríos won the first tournament of the year in Doha. However, his performance in the following tournaments was weaker, weakened by an ankle operation, which resulted him to drop out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since he was a teenager. In September Ríos won another title, this time in Hong Kong, defeating German Rainer Schüttler in the final. Ríos decided to return in October to play a Challenger tournament, winning the final of Santiago ebating the Argentine Edgardo Massa in the final. Also reached a doubles final in Scottsdale. Ríos ended the year as No.39 in the world.
2002
In early 2002 he had some good results, but a back injury prevented him from continuing the season successfully. It was the same injury that he had had two operations with already, and finally prevented him from returning to a competitive level. His best results were the quarterfinals at the Australia Open, the semifinal at the Miami Masters, and the final in Stockholm tournament playing the Thai Paradorn Srichaphan. Ríos would again finish among the 25 best players in the world in position No. 24, but without managing to recover from injuries that beset him since late 1999.
2003
In Viña del Mar tournament (formerly Santiago tournament) Ríos reached the final, losing to Spaniard David Sánchez, losing the fourth of four finals he participated in his home country. However, representing Chile together with Fernando González and Nicolás Massú, he won the World Team Cup in Düsseldorf. The same year he also won silver medals in singles and doubles alongside Adrián García in the 2003 Pan American Games. In May Ríos played his last ATP-level match, losing in the first round at Roland Garros to Mario Ančić after withdrawing at 1-6 0-1. In 2003 Ríos played very few tournaments, in most of which he had to withdraw. This resulted in ending the year only as No. 105 in the world.
Tour retirement
In 2004, six years after claiming the World No. 1 ranking, and after a long absence from the tour, Ríos returned to competition with a 6–0, 6–0 victory at a Challenger Series tournament in Ecuador. He played his last competitive match in early April 2004 at a challenger in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, where he retired in the round of 16.
Finally, on July 16, 2004, after years of constant injuries and back discomfort—and at just 28 years old—Rios announced his retirement from tennis during a press conference in Santiago. He organized a farewell tour across his home country, travelling through several cities, meeting with fans, offering tennis clinics, and playing friendly matches with international and local tennis players such as Petr Korda, Goran Ivanišević. The tour ended on December 22, 2004, at a soccer stadium in Santiago, where he played his final tennis match against Guillermo Coria of Argentina.
Ríos intended to return to ATP competition in February 2007 at the Viña del Mar tournament (Movistar Open); however, he retired because of the same back injury that made him retire from the tour.
On March 30, 2007, Ríos played an exhibition match in the Movistar Arena against Andre Agassi, both as a way to commemorate the match where Ríos rose to World No. 1 and as a way of having the American play in Chile. On June 24, 2008, Ríos defeated Pete Sampras in an exhibition match that commemorated the ten years anniversary of having reached the Number 1 ranking in the world.
Seniors
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This section requires expansion. |
On March 29, 2006, Ríos, aged 30, debuted on the ATP Champions Tour, a tour for senior's players. At his first tournament on the tour in Doha, Qatar, he defeated Thomas Muster, Henri Leconte, Pat Cash, and Cédric Pioline to claim the title. The following week he repeated, this time winning the crown in Hong Kong, where he won the final before an also former world No. 1 Thomas Muster. Rios won six tournaments in a row, adding Algarve Graz, Paris and Eindhoven to the above. His inclusion on the senior circuit caused mild controversy, as he was significantly younger than many of his fellow competitors.[1] He ended the year as number one, winning a total of six tournaments and holding a winning streak of 25 matches, achieving the record of being the only player in history to be No. 1 in the world as a junior, professional and veteran.
In 2008 Ríos came back to veteran's tour where he won the tournaments in Barcelona and Algarve. On June 22, 2008, he was defeated by Pete Sampras in the final of a seniors tournament in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Ríos ended the year as No.3 in the veteran's world rankings.
Personal life
Ríos was born in Santiago, Chile to Jorge Ríos Jarvis, a businessman, and Alicia Mayorga, a teacher. He has an older sister, Paula.
Ríos married Costa Rican Giuliana Sotela in December 2000 in Santiago. He met her while training at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida. Their only child, Constanza, was born in June 2001. Soon after returning to competition in 2004, Ríos and his wife separated, and their marriage was annulled. During this period, Ríos worked as a sports commentator for a radio station in Chile.
In April 2005 Ríos married to model María Eugenia "Kenita" Larraín, a former fiancée of football player Iván Zamorano. The couple subsequently experienced a very public break-up in September of the same year after an incident in Costa Rica in which Larraín was allegedly injured in an accident. Ríos claimed that marrying her was "the biggest mistake of my life."
Controversies
Ríos' career has been marked by a number of controversies.
- He was fined US$10,000 for speeding during the 1998 Stuttgart tournament.[2]
- In a confusing incident, he ran over his physical trainer, Manuel Astorga, with his jeep, leaving him gravely injured at the foot. Astorga was later fired as trainer.[2]
- After a magazine published some photos of him dancing seductively with a woman at a Paris disco, his girlfriend Giuliana Sotela broke up with him. Later, during a Davis Cup press conference, he read a letter, asking Sotela for forgiveness. He ended the press conference in tears.[3]
- He was accused by his second wife, María Eugenia Larraín, of throwing her off of his car while visiting his daughter in Costa Rica. Larraín arrived to Santiago's airport in dramatic fashion, in a wheelchair and showing multiple bruises on her legs. He claimed those bruises were caused by falling while skiing.[2]
- He was arrested in Rome in 2001 after he punched a taxi driver in the nose and then had a fight with the policemen arresting him.[3]
- In 2003, while training for a Davis Cup tie with Ecuador, he allegedly urinated on some men in a La Serena bar's bathroom and was later expelled from his hotel after being accused of swimming nude. As a consequence, the Chilean team missed a flight to Ecuador the following day. He later apologized for the incidents.[2][4]
- In 2003 he and a friend were expelled from a Santiago bar after insulting other clients and being involved in a brawl with some waiters. Both were arrested and later released.[2]
- He reportedly told Monica Seles to move her "fat ass" while on a lunch queue, but he has denied this.[3]
- During the 1997 Wimbledon tournament he commented that grass was for "cows and soccer" and not suitable for tennis play.[3]
- He was disqualified from the 2000 Mercedes-Benz Cup tennis tournament in Los Angeles, California during a first round match with Gouichi Motomura of Japan and fined US$5,000 for saying "fuck you" to the chair umpire.[3]
- During a post-match interview at the Basel tournament, he insulted a journalist under his breath after she asked him whether he had Native American ancestry.[5]
- He tried to moon some reporters who were recording him while partying outside his apartment in Reñaca.[3]
- He fired his trainer Larry Stefanki shortly after he became World No. 1, claiming that he wanted to go in a different direction.
- He won the Prix Citron 'award' several different years (many in a row) for being the most disagreeable player on tour.
All finals (33)
Singles: 31 (18-13)
- Wins (18)
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| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| 1. | May 28, 1995 | Bologna, Italy | Clay |  Marcelo Filippini |
6–2, 6–4 |
| 2. | July 30, 1995 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Clay |  Jan Siemerink |
6–4, 7–5, 6–4 |
| 3. | October 8, 1995 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Carpet (i) |  Mark Philippoussis |
7–6(6), 6–2 |
| 4. | May 26, 1996 | Sankt Pölten, Austria | Clay |  Félix Mantilla |
6–2, 6–4 |
| 5. | April 27, 1997 | Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay | Àlex Corretja |
6–4, 6–3, 6–3 |
| 6. | January 18, 1998 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Richard Fromberg |
4–6, 6–4, 7–6(3) |
| 7. | March 15, 1998 | Indian Wells, USA | Hard |  Greg Rusedski |
6–3, 6–7(15), 7–6(4), 6–4 |
| 8. | March 29, 1998 | Miami, USA | Hard |  Andre Agassi |
7–5, 6–3, 6–4 |
| 9. | May 17, 1998 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Álbert Costa |
walkover |
| 10. | May 24, 1998 | Sankt Pölten, Austria | Clay | Vincent Spadea |
6–2, 6–0 |
| 11. | October 5, 1998 | Grand Slam Cup, Munich, Germany | Hard (i) | Andre Agassi |
6–4, 2–6, 7–6(1), 5–7, 6–3 |
| 12. | October 18, 1998 | Singapore | Carpet (i) | Mark Woodforde |
6–4, 6–2 |
| 13. | May 9, 1999 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay |  Mariano Zabaleta |
6–7(5), 7–5, 5–7, 7–6(5), 6–2 |
| 14. | May 23, 1999 | Sankt Pölten, Austria | Clay | Mariano Zabaleta |
4–4, retired |
| 15. | October 17, 1999 | Singapore | Hard (i) |  Mikael Tillström |
6–2, 7–6(5) |
| 16. | July 23, 2000 | Umag, Croatia | Clay | Mariano Puerta |
7–6(1), 4–6, 6–3 |
| 17. | January 7, 2001 | Doha, Qatar | Hard |  Bohdan Ulihrach |
6–3, 2–6, 6–3 |
| 18. | September 30, 2001 | Hong Kong, China | Hard |  Rainer Schüttler |
7–6(3), 6–2 |
- Runners-ups (13)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| 1. | October 29, 1995 | Santiago, Chile | Clay | Sláva Doseděl |
7–6(3), 6–3 |
| 2. | March 10, 1996 | Scottsdale, USA | Hard |  Wayne Ferreira |
2–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| 3. | April 21, 1996 | Barcelona, Spain | Clay |  Thomas Muster |
6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–1 |
| 4. | November 10, 1996 | Santiago, Chile | Clay | Hernán Gumy |
6–4, 7–5 |
| 5. | February 16, 1997 | Marseille, France | Hard (i) | Thomas Enqvist |
6–4, 1–0, retired |
| 6. | May 18, 1997 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Àlex Corretja |
7–5, 7–5, 6–3 |
| 7. | August 24, 1997 | Boston, USA | Hard | Sjeng Schalken |
7–5, 6–3 |
| 8. | November 9, 1997 | Santiago, Chile | Clay | |
6–2, 6–1 |
| 9. | February 1, 1998 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia | Hard | Petr Korda |
6–2, 6–2, 6–2 |
| 10. | April 25, 1999 | Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay |  Gustavo Kuerten |
6–4, 2–1, retired |
| 11. | October 10, 1999 | Shanghai, China | Hard | Magnus Norman |
2–6, 6–3, 7–5 |
| 12. | October 27, 2002 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) |  Paradorn Srichaphan |
6–7(2), 6–0, 6–3, 6–2 |
| 13. | February 16, 2003 | Viña del Mar, Chile | Clay | David Sánchez |
1–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
Doubles: 2 (1-1)
- Win (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| 1. | July 30, 1995 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Clay | Sjeng Schalken |
Wayne Arthurs Neil Broad |
7–6, 6–2 |
- Runner-up (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| 1. | March 11, 2001 | Scottsdale, USA | Hard | Sjeng Schalken |
Donald Johnson Jared Palmer |
7–6(3), 6–2 |
Team competition wins
- May 25, 2003: World Team Championship, Düsseldorf, Germany (Clay)
Other wins
- August 2003: Men's Singles, Silver medal, Pan American Games, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- August 2003: Men's Doubles, Silver medal, Pan American Games, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Performance timeline
| Tournament | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | - | - | 1R | QF | F | - | - | 1R | QF | - | 0 |
| French Open | 2R | 2R | 4R | 4R | QF | QF | 1R | 2R | - | 1R | 0 |
| Wimbledon | - | 1R | - | 4R | 1R | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| US Open | 2R | 1R | 2R | QF | 3R | 4R | 3R | 3R | 3R | - | 0 |
| Grand Slam Win-Loss | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 14-4 | 12-4 | 7–2 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 6–2 | 0–1 | 51-26 |
| ATP World Tour Finals | - | - | - | - | RR | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| Indian Wells Masters | - | 3R | SF | 2R | W | 3R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1 |
| Miami Masters | - | 3R | 3R | 3R | W | 4R | 4R | 2R | SF | 4R | 1 |
| Monte Carlo Masters | - | - | SF | W | - | F | 1R | 2R | 3R | - | 1 |
| Rome Masters | - | 2R | QF | F | W | 1R | 1R | 2R | - | - | 1 |
| Hamburg Masters | - | - | - | 3R | 2R | W | SF | 2R | - | - | 1 |
| Canada Masters | - | - | SF | - | - | - | 3R | - | 3R | 0 | |
| Cincinnati Masters | - | 1R | - | 3R | 2R | - | 2R | - | 2R | - | 0 |
| Madrid Masters | - | - | QF | QF | QF | QF | - | 3R | 2R | - | 0 |
| Paris Masters | - | - | 2R | 2R | QF | 2R | - | - | 1R | - | 0 |
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-8 (quarter finals up to finalist).
ATP Tour career earnings
| Year | Majors | ATP wins | Total wins | Earnings ($) | Money list rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1,397,445 | 12 |
| 1998 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3,420,054 | 2 |
| 1999 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1,794,244 | 5 |
| 2000 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 493,816 | 40 |
| 2001 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 466,025 | 43 |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 506,160 | 39 |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 308,140 | 73 |
| Career | 0 | 18 | 18 | 9,713,771 | 30 |
References
Sources
External links
- Official website
- Marcelo Ríos at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Marcelo Ríos at the International Tennis Federation
- Marcelo Ríos at Davis Cup
- Marcelo Rios Videos
| Preceded by Pete Sampras Pete Sampras |
World Number One March 30, 1998 - April 26, 1998 August 10, 1998 - August 23, 1998 |
Succeeded by Pete Sampras Pete Sampras |
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