By Scoop Malinowski
In extensive interview with the newspaper La Tercera, former ATP world no. 1 and 1998 Australian Open finalist Marcelo Rios confirmed that he decided to sign a contract for one year to coach and accompany the 17-year-old Chinese lefthanded prospect Juncheng Shang on the ATP World Tour.
Rios said, “If I’m here, it’s because I want to be and I want you to be good and if you win, I win. We both won,” Rios said he told Shang.
Since working with Rios as his coach since late July, Shang has won an ATP Challenger in Lexington, Kentucky and reached the finals of Granby Challenger. Shang’s ranking has improved to the top 150.
Rios also revealed more inside information about how serious and detail-oriented his coaching approach is for Shang. For example, Rios said that he was in contact with former ATP rival and colleague Carlos Moyá, who sent him videos of Rafael Nadal’s training sessions, to show his pupil Shang what he wanted from him.
(Marcelo Rios art by Andres Bella.)
Bradenton · China · Juncheng Shang · Marcelo Rios · Nike
