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Words About Marcelo Rios From A Fan From The Philippines
8 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
Cristy M., an Asian chemistry teacher now in Thailand, found my Rios article and mentioned it in her blog. She made some very nice comments about Rios and she appreciates his unique character.
Tennis great, Marcelo Rios
Posted 1 week ago He was one of the reasons why I started watching professional tennis sometime in the 1990’s. I love his game and I love the way he carries himself: like a rebel, like someone who doesn’t really give a damn about what others think. He was a joy to watch.
I know now that he behaved badly publicly in the past and others may have strong, negative opinions about him but for me, lefty Marcelo Rios is one of the best tennis players in the modern era. For a teenager like me then, seeing someone pour his emotions on court while playing, struck a chord deep inside me. He was not afraid to show his non-conformity. He kept it real. A character that I have grown to appreciate in people and in me (still working at it).
I was thus very happy when Andy Murray said in an interview earlier this year that he thinks Marcelo Rios is the greatest player who never won a grand slam and I agree with him. I still remember the very many newspaper cut-outs (no computer then) I had of Marcelo Rios pasted on a scrapbook that later on was destroyed by termites. The clippings may have been gone but my memories of Rios and the inspiration he gave me then and have re-awakened in me now, stay.
Former world number one (now retired) ATP player, Marcelo Rios of Chile, a.k.a. El Chino (The Chinese)
I also came across an article written of Rios (by Scoop Malinowski) the title of which is Marcelo Rios: The Man We Barely Knew and I enjoyed refreshing my memories of him and learning many, many things about him. A book which has the same title as the article is also available on Amazon (I’m buying one!).
Rios was a very talented player, indeed!
I still hope to meet him in person one day. 🙂
Marcelo Rios "was a joy to watch"
Steve · October 20, 2012 at 10:33 pm
She’ll have to write the forward to the 2nd print edition of the book. 🙂
She definitely gets what Rios was about.
Best player to never win a slam??? He’s certainly in the debate. Nalby, Haas, Gasquet, Rios & others I left out–I’d probably go with Nalbandian.
Scoop Malinowski · October 21, 2012 at 6:36 pm
Rios definitely has a fan base out there all over the world Steve, he really struck a chord with certain individuals. He absolutely was an important player in tennis history. Best player to never win a major – now that Murray is out of contention, gotta give that honor to Rios. Or maybe Todd Martin deserves some kudoes. Martin actually made two major finals and also was 2-0 vs. Rios head to head. Martin also gave better performances in his finals compared to Rios – losing 76 64 64 to Sampras in 94 Australia and in five sets to Agassi at US Open final. For some reason Martin is underappreciated.
Steve · October 21, 2012 at 8:06 pm
Todd Martin??? Kind of Pioline level though totally diff. style.
Gans · October 21, 2012 at 10:57 pm
Kudos to you, Scoop. We are proud about your acheivements. To be appreciated of our work by someone unknown especially on the other side of the world must be a great feeling.
I did not know much about Rios until I read about him here. He must have been a great player to watch. It is OK not to care about what others say, but couldn’t that be achieved without being disrespectful or rude to others?
I guess, that’s what Rios didn’t know how to handle. I am sure he probably got better over time. We never know what celebrity status does to human psyche. Some are good at it, some are not. I am not justifying Rios’s behavior as quoted by several others. He may have been this way even before he became a star.
May be the trick is to leave all that aside and just watch and appreciate tennis. It all boils down to Why We Watch Tennis- an article that I wrote here sometime back. Many times I find we can know more about ourselves by watching others.
Scoop Malinowski · October 22, 2012 at 7:17 pm
Todd Martin doesn’t get the respect he deserves Steve.
Scoop Malinowski · October 22, 2012 at 7:24 pm
Thank you Gans.Rios had a ‘me against the world attitude’ and it’s possible it’s what helped him get to the top. But it also had drawbacks to be the bad guy, it created extra problems to deal with and it gave opponents extra incentive to kick his *** as one player told me. He just wasn’t a follower or a conformist, he had to do it his way and he did. Tennis is a hard enough game to play without any extra problems, Rios certainly created a lot of distractions and negativity around himself which ultimately took a toll on his court performance. Champions in sport are required to be friendly and polite, accessible with public, sponsors, media, and they must say all the right things like a politician. If they don’t play the political game they won’t last for long on top. Look what happened to Agassi when he was a rebel. Then when Agassi got his act together and matured and played the political game the right way, he became a true champion. Some insiders thought Rios might mature and change like Agassi but his body broke down and he never got the chance, he quit before age 30.
Steve · October 22, 2012 at 10:46 pm
“Todd Martin doesn’t get the respect he deserves Steve.” Maybe. There’s a long list of players that don’t.
Scoop Malinowski · October 23, 2012 at 9:40 am
True Steve, like Gambill said for my Rios book if you don’t win a major, even if you have a very good career, the media and fans forget you when you retire.