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For Bobby Hurley – my 5 Favorite Rios matches

PB151875Reader and tennis blogger Bobby Hurley Jr asked me to name my five favorite Marcelo Rios matches —
Here they are:
Key Biscayne final ’98 – with the pressure of having to win against Agassi (in their first meeting) to achieve the number one ranking just weeks after the disappointing Aussie Open final wipeout loss to Korda, Rios came up with one of the finest tennis performances of the decade, as one European match broadcaster called it – Rios obliterated Agassi in three straight electrifying sets with a game so sensational that it inspired a couple of young future ATP champions named Roger Federer and Alexander Dolgopolov. I spoke with Brad Gilbert for my Rios book and he told me the first thing Agassi told him after the match was “I thought I played good” — basically meaning Rios was simply unbeatable. With this monumental and historic win Rios pocketed a $5 million dollar bonus, $2 1/2m each as bonuses from Yonex and Nike Grand Slam Cup final vs Agassi later in ’98 – this time the stakes were also huge – a jackpot prize of a million bucks was on the line. Again Rios displayed the court magic and wizardly, downing the A Train in five sets, seemingly toying at times with Agassi like a cat with a helpless mouse. One of the most memorable winners was of Rios, having slipped and fallen on his rear, still managed to hit an overhead winner while sitting on the court – only Rios could choreograph a point like this.
Rios vs Arazi at the French Open – not sure if any footage of this match exists on You Tube but it was a classic duel of two artists – even a legend like Guillermo Vilas called this clash of spectacular southpaws “one of the best matches I’ve ever seen” – as I was later told by a friend of Vilas who worked at the John McEnroe Academy. First set of Rios vs Agassi at the 2002 Key Biscayne semi – it seemed whenever these two titans shared a court magic happened. Rios seemed extra motivated and inspired to play tennis against the most colorful and famous tennis player on the planet. Rios clearly was not fit enough to finish the job and faded physically after winning an unbelievably entertaining first set. Fifth set of US Open ’96 match with Thomas Enqvist – This was the first time I ever saw Rios, who looked like a fourteen year old junior, how slight and small he was, but boy could he play. Down two breaks in the fifth to the seeded Swede, Rios cranked his turbo engine into seventh gear and battled back to a tiebreaker, wowing the crowd on the outside court with his skillset but also his court behavior which included spitting at balls, blowing at balls, grabbing his privates, the most unlikely looking tennis pro the sport has ever seen. Enqvist survived and won the match but for those in attendance that afternoon, we all knew there was no question that a superstar was going to emerge from Chile.
Check out Bobby’s blog http://tennispr.blogspot.com/2015/09/marcelo-rios.html

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58 comments

  • Dan Markowitz · September 30, 2015 at 5:28 pm

    Wait a second, is THE Bobby Hurley Jr. of Duke fame and now the head coach of Univ. of Buffalo basketball team? How did Bobby Hurley Jr. ask you for your five top Marcelo Rios matches?

    Okay, if you’re going to give out your five favorite Rios matches, I’m going to name my five favorite Vince matches. Be on the lookout…

  • Michael · September 30, 2015 at 9:42 pm

    Only Rios match that really sticks in my mind is when Tarango beat Rios on GS court at USO and then after match point turned to an especially annoying Rios cheering section of the crowd and gave them The Finger. :-).

    For Vince, my disappointment that when Fed played his first match off Ashe Stadium in years for a special Sunday night one match only session as a result of, yes, RAIN backing up the schedule (it was the only official night session march ever on Armstrong) that Vince made R3 (I think it was)because I wanted to see a match. Instead I saw a clinic. Fed was so in command he threw in a between the legs shot for no particular reason other to try to entertain us.

  • Moskova Moskova · September 30, 2015 at 9:47 pm

    Haha….you guys are funny….looking fwd to the top 5 spadea matches……because spadea ain’t afraidaya, capice !

  • Bobby Hurley · September 30, 2015 at 9:54 pm

    Unfortunately, I suck at basketball.

  • Bobby Hurley · September 30, 2015 at 10:40 pm

    Arazi vs Rios French Open 1997
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi5rA_bxQ08

  • Bobby Hurley · September 30, 2015 at 10:47 pm

    I Have enjoyed most of those matches. Except I didn’t know how great that Arazi vs Rios match was. And I haven’t seen the Enqvist match. But I hope to God there is better footage of the Rios vs Arazi match. Several minutes into the grand slam cup final Rios hits a forehand angle from the baseline that is so ridiculous that even from around the net post Agassi can’t get into the court. Thanks for the post Scoop.

  • Dan Markowitz · October 1, 2015 at 2:30 am

    Now wait a second, no offense to this Bobby Hurley, but you don’t mention you’re going to list the 5 best Rios matches for Bobby Hurley and not mention that this is not the Bobby HUrley who played at Duke. But anyway, these are the five greatest Vince matches, and unlike Rios, most of them occurred in slams.

    No. 1–drum roll, please…Vince beats Agassi in Australian Open Round of 16 to the tune of 61 75 67(3) 63. That’s right folks, the only set Double A can win is in a breaker. Vince completely dominates Brooke Shields’ boy.

    No. 2–don’t faint now, in only his second Main Draw of the Open, Vince beats the no. 7 seed, Yevgeny Kafelnikov 62 64 64 to reach his first Rd of 16 of a slam. Vince said backhand to backhand, in Louis Armstrong Stadium, his backhand was superior to Kafelnikov’s.

    No. 3, Spadea Ain’t Afraid A Ya…in Gstaad, Switzerland in 1999, Vince takes out on clay, no. 5 in the world, Gustavo Kuerten, 7-6 (6) in the third.

    No. 4, Vince wins his only ATP title in Scottsdale 2004, beating Blake in the quarters and Roddick in the semis, 67(5) 63 64, breaking Roddick’s serve three times in the third set, a record. Vince then goes on to beat Kiefer in the finals. Pandemonium, my friends!

    No. 5, Vince comes from two sets down at the age of 33, to beat the annoying Radek Stepanek at the 2008 Australian Open. Take that, Radek. And then because you can’t encapsulate a career as brilliant as Vince’s in only 5 matches, how about no. 6 and no. 7 when Vince beat both Rafter, no. 4, and Safin at the Miami Masters in 1998 and 2004, respectively.

    See, unlike Rios, Vince actually had big wins at slams, novel achievement.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 1, 2015 at 8:48 am

    michael – i interviewed tarango for the book about rios and he said that was the best he ever played- he was down a set and break and decided to go for it – first serves on first and second serves and they were all going in – the match of his career ensued winners all over the place, he and rios bonded after too in the locker room –

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 1, 2015 at 8:53 am

    Vince beating Sampras on the retirement was also a good show, if I recall correctly Vince won the first set in a TB and then Pete threw in the towel but Vince was playing very well that night espn match in cincy —

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 1, 2015 at 8:56 am

    Rios had a lot of great matches I didn’t see, the final in San Polten where he just crushed Vince like o and 2, the monte carlo win, the Hamburg marathon final vs Zabaleta, the blowout of Courier, the Rome blowout of muster, there surely are many more too — the US Open Enqvist match was incredible, wish there was video of it — thanks for posting the Rios Arazi link, gonna watch that again Bobby —

  • Dan Markowitz · October 1, 2015 at 9:09 am

    Vince beat Sampras on the retirement in Indy not Cincy and I think it was one set all when Sampras retired. I didn’t mention Vince beating Federer with the bagel in Monte Carlo or beating Davydenko in Rome in like the 3rd rd.

    The best two matches I saw him play was beating Bjorkman at the Open in 06 and his last Open where he took Safin to 5 in AA. Vince only played Rios once in a slam and it was a hard fought 4 set win for Rios at the French.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 1, 2015 at 9:42 am

    Vince had that great run in Aus Open in one of his last seasons winning five setters from two sets down to Gremelayr and Step I believe, that was a heroic run by Vince, then he ran into Ferrer —

  • Dan Markowitz · October 1, 2015 at 11:55 am

    He beat Gremelayr in 5, but not from two sets down. Of course, do you remember when he beat Gremelayr at Delray when he was completely down and I went crazy and broke down the German’s serve by urging Vince to attack it?

    Yes, Vince was 3 1/2 at that Aussie O, nowadays, the Americans are playing the Powershares events at 33.

  • Dan Markowitz · October 1, 2015 at 11:56 am

    33 1/2

  • Michael · October 1, 2015 at 2:50 pm

    @dan “and his [spadea] last Open where he took Safin to 5 in AA”

    Dan you know that was not his last Open. That was his last main draw match. I happen to have been at his last Open match, which was the next year. It actually ended on Ct. 13 with a double fault. (-:

  • Michael · October 1, 2015 at 2:54 pm

    Scoop, Tarango win or lose always gave a good show. I liked to watch him play.

    Spadea I’d rank a bit better player than the overrated Rios.

  • Dan Markowitz · October 1, 2015 at 3:04 pm

    No, Michael, I wouldn’t put Vince in Rios’ category and neither would Vince. He didn’t get to a finals of a slam or get to be No. 1, but he had his big match wins and he had a longevity Rios never had.

    The Safin match was really Vince’s last at the Open. He lost in the first round of the qualis, but it was to a nobody and Vince had been finished that entire 2009 year. That Open didn’t do his Open career justice as he was a respectable 14-14.

  • Moskova Moskova · October 1, 2015 at 3:39 pm

    “respectable 14-14″….haha

  • Michael · October 1, 2015 at 4:29 pm

    Dan, it’s hyperbole necessary to counteract Scoop’s wild overestimation of Rios’s tennis skills.

    It may have been Spadea’s last match that he considered himself match ready ? Or that he was actually competitive. But you can’t simply ignore matches played as if they don’t exist.

    But, I agree, 14-14 is respectable. Harry after 7 years as a pro has 2 wins and 6 losses. Young after 11 years pro is 8 wins and 11 losses. Gimelstob career 9-11. Jan-Michael Gambil who turned pro same year as Gimelstob 11-9. For tthe stats I went to the Atptour site. I was curious how he stacked up to some other Americans. Not too shabby.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 1, 2015 at 7:48 pm

    mike wasn’t vince’s last match vs luka gregorz or gregorz zemla? I get them two mixed up —

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 1, 2015 at 7:57 pm

    mike, tarango is one of the best interviews in tennis, of all time, every single time i interviewed him he gave me gold, for the rios book, for facing hewitt, safin, and his biofile was legendary — jeff tarango is a goldmine of tennis talk, memories, thoughts, if dan did a book with him it would be a cult classic — guaranteed — —-to say you’d rank spadea as better than rios is the most illogical and comical thing you have ever posted or said —

  • Dan Markowitz · October 1, 2015 at 8:52 pm

    Yes, Vince won his most slam matches at the US Open, but he won 42 slam matches and that’s not shabby. Mardy Fish, in comparison, only won 10 more.

  • Michael · October 2, 2015 at 12:03 am

    Scoop, Luka Gregorc. I captured the final few points.

    http://youtu.be/-V5tH0OyFFw

    Someone told me Tarango has done commentary though I have not heard him but I think he might be an interesting tennis commentator.

    “to say you’d rank spadea as better than rios is the most illogical and comical thing you have ever posted or said”

    Yeh, well stay tuned. I wasn’t even drinking when I said it,

  • Michael · October 2, 2015 at 12:07 am

    PS, I realize when I watch it again that Spadea does a little Rajeev Ram when he starts up his serve motion (that was a joke, I mean of course a Sampras thing which Ram comically has copied down to the letter).

  • Dan Markowitz · October 2, 2015 at 2:22 am

    Well, Vince learned that cock of the racquet from the same guy who taught Pete, Pete Fischer. Pretty sad. You lose your last match after 15 years on tour and no ones there to greet you.

  • Harold · October 2, 2015 at 5:04 am

    “Yes, Vince won his most slam matches at the US Open, but he won 42 slam matches and that’s not shabby. Mardy Fish, in comparison, only won 10 more.”

    Cmon Dan,

    Thats some manipulation of the stats to compare Spadea and Fish.
    Fish 52-38
    Spadea 42-54

    Played in 16 more Majors than Fish, and has 10 less wins.

  • Dan Markowitz · October 2, 2015 at 8:34 am

    Can’t disagree with you more, Harold. Firstly, lets give Vince credit for playing well into his 30’s. Fish could barely make it to 31 really. Also, who do you think had all the USTA support when he was a junior, Fish or Spadea? The very fact that Spadea played nearly 100 slam matches is like the greatest feat in tennis outshining Laver’s two Grand Slams.

    I mean let’s be serious, Vince was being coached by his father, a guy who knew virtually nothing about tennis until he was in his 30’s (dude was an opera singer!) while Fish’s father was/is a tennis pro and he lived with Andy Roddick and he was coached by Todd Martin, Pat McEnroe and probably a few other big name coaches. What Camila Giorgi is doing on the women’s tour, Vince is pretty much the equivalent on the men’s side.

    Vince won more matches on tour than Mardy (311-302) and he won just 3 less Masters Series matches (67-70) and Fish had peers like Roddick, Blake and Ginepri while Spadea had peers like who? Jan-Michael Gambill, that’s it and not even really Gambill because he’s 3 years younger than Vince.

    Face it, Vince had no support, no peers starting out and throughout his pro career while Fish had all the support and all the peers, and Vince still had a comparable career to Fish.

  • Harold · October 2, 2015 at 8:57 am

    Spadea won 9 more matches, but lost 140 more matches. Does winning percentage mean anything, or are you all about longevity?
    There are way too many pros between Fish, and Spadea, on the career winning percentage list, to call their careers comparable. Sorry

    Fish had health problems and injuries, all the help he had, USTA advantages, didn’t save him from that.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 2, 2015 at 9:12 am

    Spadea < Fish < Rios --- let's be real now --

  • Harold · October 2, 2015 at 9:41 am

    @ Dan

    Who do you think had better careers? Spadea or Hrbaty? Spadea or Kiefer?

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 2, 2015 at 10:31 am

    Be interesting Harold if Dan tries to push Spadea above Kiefer and Hrbaty who were both very very good players, both won six ATP singles titles and were top ten —

  • Dan Markowitz · October 2, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    What are you kidding me, Kiefer and Hrbaty, please don’t insult Vince, don’t insult Vince like that.

    Vince was 3-2 against Kiefer and 2-3 against Hrbaty. I’ll ask Vince how the hell he ever lost to that lightweight.

  • Moskova Moskova · October 2, 2015 at 8:10 pm

    Cmon Dan, you’re so biased that it’s effecting your logical reasoning abilties. Borderline delusional. Spadea was a nobody in the ATP – he’s not the only one with a couple of freak wins over a somebody..

  • Dan Markowitz · October 2, 2015 at 8:57 pm

    Moskova, I’m kidding, I know Vince didn’t have a great career, but to say he was a nobody is not right. He didn’t have a couple of freak wins, think of anyone who was anyone in Vince’s time and Vince beat him, Sampras, Agassi, Roddick, Nadal, Federer, Rafter, Safin, Kraijcek, Kafelnikov, Fish, Blake, Ginepri and Santoro. The guy has some special talent, but he didn’t go about his career in the most professional manner regarding coaching, training and fitness.

  • Michael · October 2, 2015 at 11:55 pm

    Spadea > Fish > [a very long list] > Rios

  • Dan Markowitz · October 3, 2015 at 5:54 am

    Finally, a man who sees the tennis world as I do. Michael, we’ll have to get a burger and a brew in the city sometime soon and discuss our twin worlds/views of tennis.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 3, 2015 at 8:29 am

    Vince was on the cusp of greatness or near greatness and he almost got there – that in itself is a great achievement — Fish came a half step closer — Rios accomplished greatness —

  • Moskova Moskova · October 3, 2015 at 11:47 am

    Dan, it’s all relative….all of the touring pros are great – good enough to be touring but greatness is measured amongst peers and all time greats. Another example is Roddick who I personally don’t think had a great career (would have been a great one if fed wasn’t around)….at the end of the day arod is a one slam wonder…

    Yes – arod was #1 in the us and world but compared with the great fed or Sampras – arod doesn’t shine as brightly.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 3, 2015 at 1:04 pm

    Roddick had a great career, considering the competition he had to contend with, winning one major, becoming number one, multiple major finals, winning Davis Cup, lasting as long as he did in the top ten = great career —

  • Dan Markowitz · October 3, 2015 at 3:20 pm

    But Spadea did have a decent career. He won 311 career matches. He reached at least the 3rd round in every slam. He reached the semis of two Masters series events. He played 15 years on tour and was top 100 for 13 of them. He broke the Top 20 twice, five years apart. Come on, those are respectable career stats.

    Take a guy like Michael Russell who just retired at 37. He won a total of 77 matches or a Paul Goldsteing won 85. Vince won more than three times the matches these guys won and these guys were respectable pros.

  • Harold · October 3, 2015 at 9:14 pm

    Spadea is under 50% winning percentage by almost 50 matches. You go from comparing him to Fish, who got into the top ten, to Russell and Goldstein, guys that were Challenger lifers. I would put him in between those levels. You cant make a big deal about 311 wins, and not mention 359 losses

  • Andrew Miller · October 4, 2015 at 12:29 am

    Spades did well. He is a better pro than the entire u.s. Brigade today save Isner and Querrey, who top Spadea only because they won more titles (like Fish, Querrey has titles on all four surfaces I believe).

    Spadeas sisters were also very good players. Saw them play.

    Not sure the need to bash Spadea. He was a player I enjoyed seeing play live. Not unlike Fish he retooled his game to compete and get his top ranking (a process so few players admit to needing as far fewer attempting given they feel they only need to play their games blah blah).

    For me it is surprising why people feel the need to criticize his play or dans comments. Spades got something on the order of zero help as a pro, zero support. He got blasted by James Blake for writing a book that Harvard educated Blake didn’t even read. That was a sad admission from Blake, going on the offensive without taking the time to read even the what, fifteen words devoted to him?

    I liked Spadea and his game. I like his advice a lot and I think if he wanted to he could be a great coach or teacher of the sport. And I think he could probably run a few challengers with some training.

  • Michael · October 4, 2015 at 2:54 am

    @Dan “Take a guy like Michael Russell who just retired at 37. He won a total of 77 matches or a Paul Goldsteing won 85. Vince won more than three times the matches these guys won and these guys were respectable pros.”

    You are doing a disservice to your man Spadea comparing him to those two. Nothing against those guys but they are both quintessential tennis journeyman.

    Though I once saw Goldstein (or Goldsteing as you refer to him) take a set off Pete Sampras ! Straight up. No excuses. Sampras was in fine form losing to Rafter later in the tourney. It really happened. On that storied court — Louie Armstrong.

  • Dan Markowitz · October 4, 2015 at 8:29 am

    You’re right Michael and Vince did something that not even Roddick, Blake and Fish did which was to have some success on red clay. He beat Kuerten and Costa and Kraijcek and once reached the Rome quarters showing he was a more versatile player than most of the other Americans.

  • Andrew Miller · October 4, 2015 at 9:59 am

    Spades had a good career. I think story around Spadea is why he didn’t do better in the 90s and early 00s. He was the one player from Florida who was always the consensus #1, on top of every ranking poll. He destroyed the other consensus #1 of the same era Hugo Armando. Spades was on every national team in sight, and one if the few pro atp ready u.s. Players, as a junior. Had some immediate success at the Lipton.

    Spades had a good career. Thought he would have a better one, like a Fish breakout with a few Masters finals and five titles etc. Maybe the cost of playing – not something anyone talks about. There is the whole logistics side of the career – hotels or motels or whatever, tournament fees, plane tickets, training costs etc. When someone else picks up the tab for some of that it helps.

    Spadeas career is a little confusing. Sometimes I’d see him live and he’d get down a bit for no good reason. He would be neck and neck with a player like Hewitt and lose focus briefly and that would be the match! Then there would be other matches where id see a player and think man they have no business winning this match against a bigger, better opponent. But they’d pull close or win.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 4, 2015 at 4:20 pm

    The defining signature moment of Vince’s career was ending the long losing streak at Wimbledon beating Rusedesi – what was it 24 first round losses in a row? With zero confidence, the broken spirited player somehow found a way to pick himself from the boulevard of broken dreams, down and out on his hands and knees and he picked himself up and rebuilt all the pieces and salvaged his lost career – no other player came out of such a hell hole of a losing streak — well done by Vince — he will always be remembered for that —

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 4, 2015 at 4:22 pm

    mike I was there too watching that Goldstein won the first or second set off Pete late afternoon Armstrong, great set of tennis by Paul Goldstein, Pete had his hands full but found a way —

  • Dan Markowitz · October 4, 2015 at 5:55 pm

    Vince didn’t lose 24 first round matches in a row. He lost only 21 matches in a row, and Vince will contend, really only 18 because they counted the three matches he lost at the team event in Germany the week before the French Open in those years which Vince contends were really more like exhibition matches.

    The signature moments in his career were one bad, losing to Chang in the third round of the Open early in Vince’s career when Chang was no. 2 in the world and Vince served for the match in the fourth set and then beating Agassi to advance to his only slam quarters.

  • Michael · October 4, 2015 at 7:06 pm

    @ Miller “There is the whole logistics side of the career – hotels or motels or whatever, tournament fees, plane tickets, training costs etc. When someone else picks up the tab for some of that it helps.”

    This is not a rhetorical question because I don’t follow,other sports closely and I’m thinking maybe golf but probably not, is there any other sport where players routinely travel to geographically dispersed places and one player will literally (not figuratively as the word literally gets fashionably misused these days) arrive via private jet, get a private car to a 5-star hotel and travel with a “team” of support people to attend to their every off-court need and the opponent can arrive D. Brown style by mini-van with an uncertain amount of sleep to stay who knows where and take care of everything themselves including do their own laundry among the many other items you have to get done prior to arriving for the event ?

    Of course it matters. We typically take no notice of what occurs prior to the two players arriving on court. We assume they are ready to go with no excuses. But in a game of inches of course the logistics and how they get done matter. Does any other sport put up with this ? It will necessarily contribute somewhat to the situation we have where a few players dominate and take 99% of the money/ endorsements. A so-called tennis middle class somewhere back of the Big 4 and South of maybe #70 or so do Ok and most of the tour will scrape by. It’s not designed to be necessarily fair or competitive.

  • Andrew Miller · October 4, 2015 at 7:10 pm

    Smyczek takes out Kudla for the Tiburon win.

    Ferrer d. Lopez for the Malaysian Open title. It’s his FOURTH of the year and 25th overall title, bringing him to well over 40 wins and 10 losses for the year and nearing 650 lifetime wins.

    Ferrer pretty much makes his case as the 2nd best Spaniard of the last 10 years behind 7th ranked Nadal, who’s now just 1 spot ahead of the 33 year old Ferrer. Pretty impressive that Ferrer, who is all of 5’9” (which might be generous) has out-competed the rest of the armada save Nadal, topping Lopez, Verdasco, Robredo, others. Even Moya, who had five fewer titles and around 75 fewer wins. Or JC Ferrero, who had 16 titles and about 175 fewer wins. Or Al Costa, who had 12 titles and 275 fewer wins.

    It’s possible Ferrer isn’t just the 2nd best Spanish player playing right now, but the 2nd best Spanish player since Bruguera’s retirement, topping Moya, Costa, Ferrero and the rest of today’s armada – Lopez, Verdasco, Robredo and I’ll throw in Bautista-Agut for good measure. Sure, he lacks that French Open win that Moya, Costa and Ferrero all have at home, or the number of slam finals that Ferrero made. Or the #1 ranking Ferrero held briefly.

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