2024-02-17 09:42:14
This week a new edition of the Buenos Aires ATP. A tournament that has seen different Chilean representatives parade every year and that, however, was never as revolutionized as when it was Marcelo Ríos.
And the ‘Chinese’ had – and maintains – a more than special relationship with the neighboring country. While his peers idolize him, the trans-Andean fan in general hates him. A push and pull that grew and reached its peak when the ‘Zurdo de Vitacura’ took over the Argentine idol Guillermo Vilas.
“They have been comparing me to Guillermo Vilas for a while. And to be honest, I don’t know him very well. The only thing I know is that he was number 2 and I am number 1 in the world,” Ríos said in 1998, in the run-up to a Davis Cup match once morest the ‘Albiceleste’.
From then on everything was different for him from the other side of the Andes. He would even end up booed by the entire stadium in the aforementioned Argentine ATP. There was no forgiveness for Marcelo.
The monumental booing of ‘Chino’ in Argentina
It was on February 20, 2001 that Argentine fans expressed their total rejection of the Chilean.
That day, in the first round of the tournament, Ríos had to face the Austrian Markus Hipfl. The national team came twentieth in the world ranking and was one of the great attractions of the event. However, he said goodbye at his debut.
Ríos, who had reached the top of the world in 1998, was beaten 6-3 and 6-1, before an audience that practically filled the venue to insult him.
“The Chilean tennis player Marcelo Ríos was booed today by the public following losing to the Austrian Markus Hipfl by 6-3 and 6-1 in the first round match of the ATP tournament in Buenos Aires, which distributes $625,000 in prizes,” wrote La Nación.
They yelled at ‘Chino’ regarding everything. But, in addition, they accused him of playing without desire and of ‘giving away’ the defeat.
“The public shouted at the Chilean’s apathy and asked him to leave the court when they understood that he did not feel like playing,” expresses the chronicle of grief.
Marcelo Ríos in Argentina
“Hipfl, who entered the main draw of the tournament following going through the qualifying filter, dominated the match and his task was facilitated by an unrecognizable Ríos, who made numerous unforced errors,” he adds.
Marcelo Ríos left obviously upset. He was never comfortable and that was extrapolated to the court. It was the last – and great – sign that the Argentine fans were not on his side. The majority of the 2,500 attendees booed him.
The idolatry of Argentine tennis players by Marcelo Ríos
But not everything was bad for Ríos with the neighboring country. The Chilean enjoyed respect, admiration and even idolatry from trans-Andean tennis players.
The list is quite extensive, but renowned figures stand out such as Gaston Gaudio, Mariano Zabaleta, William Coriaamong others.
“I really liked how Marcelo Ríos played at the time. And I might never beat him in my life, nor will I beat him. Never,” Gaudio expressed in a dialogue with Fernando Niembro on Fox Sports.
“It’s like I have a problem because I thought he was such a phenomenon playing tennis, that I would have liked to have been able to do something more once morest him,” added the ‘Cat’.
“’Chino’ Ríos was my idol”Coria, meanwhile, said on more than one occasion in his country. Furthermore, in a conversation with La Tercera in 2017, she maintained that “I learned a lot from Ríos. For me he is one of the teachers I have seen in tennis. He has a talent that few can show off and made big differences. Few see the plays like he does. Together with Agassi, they are one of the best.”
“I owe a lot to Marcelo. On the circuit no one wanted to face himbecause it made you embarrassed. I saw how Agassi broke down when I faced him. And later, in the locker room, people commented on how well Marcelo played. In short, he was the first number one in South America and showed the way,” he said.
Zabaleta, for his part, recently expressed in an interview with Séptimo Game that “the talent that (Ríos) had, how he stood on the court; He played tennis so different that for me, I never saw anything like it once more. The things he did, the tournaments he won and he was number 1.”
“El Chino is like watching Messi play football“For me, watching him play tennis was the same… I just compared him with Messi, I don’t have many players who I can compare with Messi in terms of talent and what I enjoyed watching him on the court,” he added.
Three giants of Argentine tennis who, despite the widespread criticism and negative comments towards Ríos in their country, surrender to the talent of ‘Zurdo de Vitacura’. The crack that never goes unnoticed.
1708166638
#Marcelo #Ríos #eternal #tug #war #Argentina
