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Recent Marcelo Rios Book Interview…
7 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
What inspired you to put this book together?
Marcelo Rios was one of the most inspiring and talented players I ever saw play the sport. He had a stylish, colorful way of playing that many tennis figures admired and appreciated, people like Roger Federer, Mats Wilander, Luke Jensen, Brad Gilbert, among many others, respected Rios and the way he played, when at his best. Rios was also controversial because he was different and had a rebellious atttitude. Rios should not be forgotten, he was an important player in tennis history. One worthy of some kind of book or tribute.
What was the most difficult part?
It’s not easy to do a book about a subject and you know the subject won’t cooperate. Rios, as you probably know Karen, was far from cooperative with the media. So the hardest part was figuring out how to go about constructing the book. I already had a good amount of content and information about Rios from other players from a Tennis Week magazine feature I did about Rios in 2005. Eventually I decided to form the book abstract and freeflowing, unpredictable and unusual – qualities which personified the subject himself. It’s definitely a different kind of read. But so far, the majority of readers of the book were happy with it. Many Rios fans contacted me saying they loved it. Hugo Armando, a former ATP player, who knew Rios from their days at Nick Bollettieri Academy, said it was one of the best tennis books he’s ever read.
Collecting all of the quotes and interviews must have been big task. How did you approach it?
Rios was a fascinating character and I was curious to learn as much as I could, which made the process almost easy. The original Tennis Week article started out by accident, when Thomas Johansson gave me a great story about Rios, when I asked him a ‘Funny Memory’ while doing a Biofile with him. That story, which is included in the book, sparked me to ask other tennis people for memories and anecdotes about Rios. And it seemed everybody I spoke with had a great story or a strong opinion of Rios. So a few years later, in 2008, when I decided to develop the original article into a book, it was just a lot of fun to listen to tennis world people talk about Rios. Some of the stories blew me away, or made me laugh so hard I had to wipe my eyes. The plan was just to talk to as many players, media, photographers, fans, officials, etc. etc. as possible at the various pro tournaments and events I covered – Miami, Delray Beach, U.S. Open, Newport. And collect as much info about Rios as possible.
Who were the most difficult people to get to comment on Rios?
Well, I didn’t even bother to talk to Rios. I tried and failed about ten times to do a simple Biofile Q&A with him during his career and he refused every time, so there’s no way he would cooperate with a book about him. Which was no problem, because I didn’t expect him to tell me anything anyway. I tried many times to get his former coach Larry Stefanki to talk but he refused. I tried to get Agassi and at first it seemed he would talk. Agassi’s assistant e-mailed me saying Andre would talk but only if Rios personally asked Andre to. Obviously, Team Agassi didn’t realize I was doing it without Rios’ permission. When they learned that, that door closed. I would say everyone else I spoke with for this book, were very very helpful and shared a tremendous amount of information which I am extremely grateful for. Michael Joyce, Jan Michael Gambill, Nick Bollettieri, Bob Brett, Gilad Bloom, Roger Federer, Bud Collins, Alberto Berasategui, Luke Jensen, Donald Dell, Mike Nakajima of Nike, Weller Evans of the ATP were all enormously helpful.
Have you sent Rios a copy of this book? Has he read it yet?
I didn’t send a copy to Rios. Though one of the journalists with a Chilean newspaper who I did an interview with about the book, said he would give Rios a copy. That’s all I can tell you. I would think Rios would like this book, some parts will make him laugh, and of course some parts will probably make him cringe a little [smile].
What do you personally think about Rios and his career?
At his best, it was like watching a magician. Like Luke Jensen said, Rios played tennis differently than anybody else ever did. He changed the game, he was ahead of his time, his time hasn’t even come yet. It was just a thrill to see him play his best tennis, like the two matches with Agassi in Miami, and the final of the Grand Slam Cup vs. Agassi in Germany. Even Roger Federer said, Rios was one of his favorite players to watch, he said this back in 1999, the first time I interviewed him. But when Rios didn’t feel like playing it was a big disappointment. Because you wondered, what happened? How could he play so poorly when just the other day he was amazing? Despite the inconsistency, he was a great player in his era. Nobody can ever take away the fact that he was #1 in the world. That’s an amazing achievement. Rios was the best player on the planet for six weeks in 1998.
Are you working on any other books?
Yes, I’m working on a book about Muhammad Ali. Sort of similar to the Rios book, it’s a collection of memories and anecdotes about Muhammad Ali from outside the public eye and behind the scenes. Things most people don’t know about Muhammad Ali. For example his daughter Laila told me, Ali would take her and her siblings to a fast food restaurant for hamburgers. And then fans would recognize him and before you knew it, hundreds of people would be there, around her dad. Ali would get so wrapped up in being around those fans and people that he would forget he was even there with his kids and then would have to drive back and pick them up. So I’ve collected a lot of memories like that, just need to get a couple years more of those kinds of stories and personal memories.
Here is the link for the book which is $12.99
http://www.amazon.com/Marcelo-Rios-Man-Barely-Knew/dp/1461162416
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Mitch · April 27, 2012 at 6:39 pm
Sorry to hijack this thread, but since there’s no better place for it, what do you make of Raonic’s win over Murray today? Is it sign that he’s really ready to break through, or just a fluke. I tend to think the former, given the surface and how good Murray seems to have been playing this week (haven’t watched at all, but saw the Giraldo scoreline).
Scoop Malinowski · April 27, 2012 at 6:55 pm
Hijacking approved Mitch ) . Nothing flukey about Raonic, he’s on his way to the top 5. This win today was just proof (though I didn’t see it). Murray seems to be in a slump now. Raonic is going to score plenty more stunners like this one today. ALso thought him beating Almagro was rather huge too.
Dan Markowitz · April 28, 2012 at 1:03 am
Big win for Raonic. He looked impressive in the ATP highlights. What you have to like about him is that he obviously has the big serve, but his groundies, particularly his forehand, are solid. And although he’s been hurt a couple of times already, he looks flexible and fit. Interesting to see if he can give Nadal a run for his money.
Andrew Miller · April 28, 2012 at 7:02 pm
Good interview about the book, I liked it. I agree with everything Scoop writes on Rios. One thing about him in Chile – he’s like a god and a pariah at the same time – he’s every bit as praised (for his incredible skill levels) and criticized (for his demeanor, attitude and all the above). Chile has 2 top 100 juniors (compared with 12 from the U.S.), with none of them close to top 20 in the junior world, probably keeping Rios’ legacy in tact in Chile: few compare at a junior level, and likely won’t at the level of the big boys.
As for Raonic, looks like he will make it to top ten by Spring 2013 or so, maybe sooner. Isner has found his groove and Raonic, who has Isner’s power and assassin “win efficiently, without compassion” mentality with greater mobility, will likely follow Isner’s footsteps. Though there are question marks for Raonic, you wonder if maybe he will make it to a slam trophy before Andy Murray will (if either make it there at all – they are talented enough to do it). Fish and Berdych, maybe Tipsy too, are the most vulnerable top ten players and I expect that two of them will make room for others with more ambition. As for the young gun lookout, it’s Raonic and Tomic who have the rankings necessary to make an assault this year or early next year on the top 20 and higher.
I would not be surprised if we see, even as soon as the US Open, the equivalent of a Hewitt triumph over Sampras. The current crop of top three players can’t monopolize the slams trophies forever – it’s just not in the cards. Someone who believes they can do it will do it – Del Potro did and it wasnt a fluke. A guy like Raonic probably believes he can and, in his case, I think he could do it, probably sooner than any of us believe he can.
Now if he could just get past that Ferrer guy…
Dan Markowitz · April 28, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Don’t agree with you, Andrew, on two of your points. First, no way we’re going to see one of the Top 3 not win this year at the Open. I can see a Raonic or Del Po or Murray knock off one of the Top 3 in a slam, but I don’t see them, like Tsonga last year at Wimby, sustaining their high level of play and besting two of the Top 3 in a slam.
Secondly, I don’t think Murray can win a slam anymore. His forehand, his attitude, his head, I don’t think he can overcome these three slightly-below-the-top inefficiencies of his and beat Nole/Rafa/Fed.
Andrew Miller · April 28, 2012 at 9:49 pm
Dan you’re right, it’s awful tough to beat a top 3 at a slam and the odds are, it ain’t happening. But, it’s an olympic year and if Nadal plays lights out at the Olympics, we can count him out for the US Open, where in 2008 he bowed out to Andy Murray. Federer, having a lousy 2008 (from his perspective) and losing in the Olympics early to Blake was more of a godsend, pushing him to want/need to do well at the US Open.
If fatigue gets some of these guys at the Olympics (emotional rather than physical, given that it’s on grass this year and a heck of a lot closer than China from last time) I think we’re creating a little more room for some upsets come U.S. open time. Why can’t a Raonic overcome an exhausted, less confident Nadal? Or what’s to stop Djokovic from being tired after playing the equivalent of back to back Wimbledons?
As of today I kind of think it’s a toss up – real hard to gauge who will be ready for the Open after the Olympics. My money would be on Federer but no matter how well he’s doing he’s got two kids and may be exhausted come US Open time. Nadal’s knees are going to probably blow out again.
If Djokovic can stay intact maybe he’s it for the US Open.
For Murray I think Lendl’s approach will pay off this year – Murray’s nowhere near to peaking.
As for Raonic, why not? The only thing I can see is he’s injured about as often as Tsonga, and that makes it impossible to win slams. But if he’s healthy when Nadal and Federer aren’t, couldn’t we be talking US Open final here?
Andrew Miller · April 28, 2012 at 9:51 pm
My main question: will the top players care or not care about the Olympics? Basing on the past couple, if you do well in singles at the Olympics on the ATP side, chances are you won’t at the US Open.