‘We created a monster’: Kyrgios call comes true

Marcelo Rios, seen here playing at Key Biscayne in 1998, is the only men’s world No.1 never to have won a Grand Slam singles title. the Chilean left-hander snatched the top ranking twice in 1998 – both times from Pete Sampras, during March and August – for a total of six weeks as No.1. He was the first Latin American player to reach the top ranking and claimed 18 career singles titles, including the 1998 Grand Slam Cup, yet his best major result was runner-up at the 1998 Australian Open; where he lost dismally to Petr Korda in the final inside 90 minutes. Prior to the match, he was asked what he would do with his two nights off. “I don’t want to go to the casino. I lose so many bets,” he said, revealing that the tournament’s $530,000 winner’s cheque would not have covered his losses; though he later claimed to be joking.

Above and beyond his racquet prowess, Rios became infamous and was once branded by Sports Illustrated as ‘The Most Hated Man in Tennis’. He tanked matches when of a mood. He despised the media, plus most fellow players and tennis fans. He belittled women’s tennis and was once accused of saying to icon Monica Seles in a Wimbledon buffet line: “Get your fat arse out of my way.” He called Wimbledon “boring” and “overrated”. He gave this jaw-dropping victory speech after winning the prestigious Monte Carlo Masters in 1997: “This does not even cover the money that I lost at the casino this week. Thank you, see you next year.”

There were a raft of other ugly stories and they gave him a nasty reputation. Former world No.1 Ilie Nastase branded Rios: “The worst prick I ever met.” Nastase’s doubles partner, Ion Tiriac, summed him up thus: “Marcelo is a finely calibrated Swiss watch missing a couple of wheels. One of those missing wheels is in his head.” Yet there was also a deep admiration for his ability, which once saw him dubbed the Andre Agassi of Chile. He was a brilliant player, albeit of slight stature and lacking a true killer shot. “Marcelo is one of the few players I’d pay money to see,” fellow Australian Open finalist Thomas Enquist once said. “He’s a wizard with a racquet.”

Of himself, Rios once said: “I’m nice sometimes. In Chile, there are even a lot of kids who want to be like me.”

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