9
Richard Williams Calls Marcelo Rios “One of the greatest guys to play tennis”
14 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Scoop
I ran into Richard Williams in the VIP parking lot at the Sony Open in Miami, about 20 minutes after his daughter Serena won the title defeating Maria Sharapova. I gave him a copy of my Rios book, which he thanked me for, and then he voluntarily shared his compliments for Rios, a player he obviously respects highly.
“Marcelo Rios, in my opinion, is one of the greatest guys to play tennis. And I don’t think a lot of people liked him because he could beat up on them so easy. The game came so easy to him, it was unbelievable. I remember IMG came to me when he was a junior player – at the Eddie Herr tournament – and they asked me ‘What do you think of this guy?’ I said, ‘I think he’s gonna be great. Because the reason I said he was gonna be great was because he always wore his hat backwards, never had a bag to put his racquets in, he said the hell with it, wouldn’t put ’em in there. He carried them like I would, a street guy. And that made me think that he was rough and tough and strong. I think he was a great, great player. And as great as he was, I don’t know no one who really wanted to play him. Marcelo, in my opinion, was a great guy.”
Thinking of how Agassi looked so uncomfortable with a hint of confusion in his eyes all three times he played Rios in Miami (twice in 1998 and 2002) and in the final of the Grand Slam Cup in Munich (1998), I remarked to Williams, “Rios could toy with even someone like Agassi…
“He could toy with anyone,” replied Mr. Williams. “He was greater than everyone. What made him so good was him seeing the ball so well. And his preparation. Plus he would move up anywhere, not wait for the ball to come to him. He’d move up to the ball. And that’s what made him so great in my opinion.”
To continue the discussion I offer: “Nobody played like Rios. He played a different style.”
Williams concurred: “He played a totally different style. But the ATP was not aware of or how to adapt to it or what to do. If you see him tell him, Man I always wanted to see him again. And I would see him at Nick Bollettieri’s sometimes and watch him practice. He was great, man, unbelievable.”
I add: “Federer always gives Rios credit too. Federer has often mentioned Rios as one of his favorite players.”
Williams: “He is. He’s a lot of people’s favorites. I think a lot of people had too much pride to say so. And because of that I think that’s the reason why they couldn’t admit what Federer said. The guy was unreal. He had what you call God-given talent. The talent that he had you couldn’t teach that at all. If it was I should have taught my daughters [laughs]. He just had what it takes, man. You know something else I like about him – he’s a rough guy. A tough guy. And he was strong. And he didn’t mind beating the hell out of you. That’s what made him so good.”
Sounds like a player worthy of being elected to the Hall of Fame doesn’t it? A rare, special player who changed and inspired the sport like no other player. A player who achieved the #1 ranking as a junior, ATP pro, and Champions Tour senior player. A player who won five Masters Series titles and reached on major singles final in a Grand Slam tournament. A player who invented the jumping two-handed backhand. A player who has been publicly cited as an inspiration to their own careers by Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, Marat Safin, Alexander Dolgopolov, Nicolas Massu, Alex Corretja, among others.
The one and only Marcelo Rios is worthy of being recognized and inducted into the Newport Hall of Fame, in my opinion.
Nourredine · May 9, 2013 at 10:31 am
Wouahhhhh super article :))) thx scoop
Steve · May 9, 2013 at 10:56 am
I don’t see this happening but I’d be for it.
A Rios speech at the HOF would be interesting.
Scoop Malinowski · May 9, 2013 at 11:02 am
Thanks Nourredine, hope you are feeling healthy and great brother. If I had more time I would have asked Richard about most of the criteria for tennis respect of a champion is winning majors and since Rios never won a major title does it diminish his legacy? Next time for sure will ask Richard this!
Scoop Malinowski · May 9, 2013 at 11:06 am
Steve, I actually can see it possibly happening. At the Sony one night at the media party I was at a table discussing Rios with Peter Bodo and Brad Falker a producer at the Tennis Channel and a local Miami writer and I got a sense they all respect Rios very much and understand how unique Rios was and they could seriously consider the idea to cast the vote for ballot nomination at least. Not sure about many of the other voters but Rios surely is a special case.
Steve · May 9, 2013 at 12:36 pm
…do you think Rios would be up for a day or a week of media attention that goes with a HOF ceremony?
Scoop Malinowski · May 9, 2013 at 12:41 pm
The young Rios – absolutely not! But from all I hear Rios is a different matured man now. I believe the tennis world would greet Rios with open arms, maybe even Bud Collins ) Like Dan says “To err is human to forgive is divine.”
Steve · May 9, 2013 at 12:50 pm
Not convinced Rios would want it but it would be nice. He might think it’s BS.
Scoop Malinowski · May 9, 2013 at 12:58 pm
For sure the younger Rios would not care about such an honor of prestige about being inducted to the Hall of Fame. Charlie Pasarell said in my book Rios was the least happy winner of his Indian Wells tournament he ever saw, and Rios also held up the Monte Carlo trophy for one second before rapidly exiting the court, much to the dismay of the photographers. But time has a way of changing people. Maybe Rios really appreciates his career a lot more now that has been over for over a decade.
Steve · May 9, 2013 at 1:16 pm
Hope so. Another good story (Was it a Miami?) where he would only pose for a few seconds on the beach for photogs.
Scoop Malinowski · May 9, 2013 at 1:57 pm
He was 90 minutes late for the trophy pose photos on the beach after beating Agassi in the Miami final, when he finally arrived, it suddenly started pouring rain while before that for the 90 minutes it was perfectly sunny. Art Seitz said he and the other photographers were really pissed off about that. He said he found out Rios was so late because he was watching a replay of the match that he just won. The Eurosport commentator said it was one of the best performances he’d ever seen on a tennis court. Rios just annihilated Agassi that day.
Jena · May 11, 2013 at 2:21 pm
Great article Scoop! Of course Rios should be in the HOF, for all the reasons you list. But I just can’t see those in charge ever allowing it. Hope they see sense and recognise Rios belongs there.
Scoop Malinowski · May 11, 2013 at 2:33 pm
Thank you Jena. But why can’t you see the voters or officials allowing it? McEnroe Connors and Nasty were far worse behaved. Capriati has also been involved in dubious behavior off court. It’s about the quality and achievements of the player’s tennis most of all. Rios was special. If Helena Sukova, Natasha Zvereva and Gigi Fernandez got in for doubles accomplishments, I think Rios should be inducted also for what he achieved. Federer saying Rios was one of his favorite players should be enough right there to put Rios in!
Cristina · May 14, 2013 at 4:40 pm
Great article :). RÃos was an absolutely fantastic player.
Scoop Malinowski · May 14, 2013 at 7:15 pm
Thank you Cristina. Agree, Rios is still and probably always be my favorite player to watch. No one could play tennis like Rios, only he. Stay tuned to the site because I did several recent interviews with Rios opponents like Dominic Hrbaty, Ramon Delgado and Bohdan Ulihrach about their matches with Rios, which I will be posting here in the near future. They shared some awesome insights and memories.