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Marcelo_Rios_2004.jpg
Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga (born December 26, 1975), nicknamed Chino (Chinese), is a Chilean former professional tennis player (1994—2004) who became the first Latin American to reach the number one position in the ATP singles rankings. He is considered one of the most talented players of his generation.
Ríos was born in Santiago, Chile. He began playing tennis at the late age of eleven at the Sport Francés country club in Vitacura, Santiago. He was soon recognized for his talented left-hand and reserved personality.
At age seventeen Ríos won his first Satellite tournament in Chile. After winning the Boys US Open title he reached the world number one in the Junior's ranking, becoming the first male player from Latin America to achieve the top spot. He turned professional in 1994.
In January 1998, he reached his lone Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, where he lost to Petr Korda of the Czech Republic in straight sets. In March of that year he became the first Latin American male to reach the number one position in the ATP singles ranking, after defeating Andre Agassi in the finals of the Lipton Players International Championships at Key Biscayne, Florida (one of seven titles he won that year). Ríos held the number one ranking for six weeks, and ended the year ranked at number two behind Pete Sampras. Ríos is currently the only player to have held the number one ranking despite never winning a Grand Slam singles title.
Ríos met Giuliana Sotela of Costa Rica while training at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida. They married in December 2000 in Santiago. Their only daughter, Constanza, was born in June 2001. A number of injuries and operations sidelined Ríos from competition during much of this period, with his ranking dropping below the 300s.
In 2004, six years after claiming the number one ranking, and after a long absence from the tour, Ríos returned to competition with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at a challenger tournament in Ecuador. Soon after, Ríos and his wife split, and their marriage was annulled. During this period, Ríos served as a sports commentator for a radio station in Chile.
On July 16 2004 Ríos announced his retirement from the sport. He organized a farewell tour across his home country, travelling through several cities, meeting with fans, offering tennis clinics, and playing friendly matches with international and local tennis players. The tour ended on December 22 2004, at a soccer stadium in Santiago, where he played his final tennis match against Guillermo Coria of Argentina.
Ríos was remarried in April 2005 to model Eugenia "Kenita" Larraín, a former fiancée of soccer star Iván Zamorano.
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Titles
| Legend |
| ATP Masters Series (5) |
| Grand Slam Cup (1) |
| ATP Tour (12) |
Finals
Singles
1995
1996
- Scottsdale, AZ, U.S.A.
- Barcelona, Spain
- Santiago, Chile
1997
1998
- Australian Open, Australia (Grand Slam)
1999
- Monte Carlo, Monaco (Masters Series)
- Shanghai, China
2002
2003
- Viña del Mar, Chile
Doubles
2001
- Scottsdale, AZ, U.S.A. (with Sjeng Schalken)
External links
- Marcelo Rios (http://www.marcelorios.cl/)
Template:Tennis World Number Ones (men)es:Marcelo Ríos ja:マルセロ・リオス nl:Marcelo Rios pl:Marcelo Rios