Marcelo Rios He always had the ability to be noticed. Since he was little, he was already dazzling locals and strangers in a tennis formation that seemed extraordinary. The evidence of this talent did not take long to appear in professionals when in the year 2000 he became the first Latin American to reach the top of the World ranking.
During his heyday, Chino was considered a different player on the court, a true artist with racket in hand and owner of milestones that until now were unprecedented for Chilean sports. From there he earned the nickname of a sports reference forever, beyond how messy his actions can be judged off the field. One of those who knew the most Marcelo Rios It is the Argentine Horacio De La Peña who at the time did not spare praise when referring to his skills.
Source: (“But with Respect”, Chilevisión).
“It’s something else, he is admired by the entire tennis world. What bothered me the most about him was not that he did things that I couldn’t do, but he did things that didn’t occur to me”, analyzed the Argentine. During his visit last year to the program “But with Respect”, the coach recognized the enormous quality of the trans-Andean: “The guy saw things that people did not see” .
Emphasis is always placed on the fact that, for the man born in Santiago, everything happened very quickly, he almost couldn’t enjoy his best stage before a debacle came that ended in his quick retirement. “He had bad luck for suffering from an unknown condition at the time such as groin pain and that affected his back, he explained. In addition, he said: “He was from another planet, but that physical handicap left him at half speed.”
Very demanding
In recent months, Marcelo Rios He made the news again, first when it became known that he would be the coach of a young Chinese man named Juncheng Shang and then because of his quick dismissal after a few weeks. Obviously, the relationship with the environment was not good, triggering a quick outcome. For De La Peña, the naturalness with which he views tennis may have worked against him.
“When I was a technical assistant in the Davis Cup, I was training Cristian Garín, one of the best setbacks on the circuit, who couldn’t return Jarry’s serve well. There he said: ‘Go ahead, get on the court and hit him’ and Garín He replied that what he was asking was not easy. He does not understand that what he did for others is almost impossible,” said the former coach of Fernando González.
