Marcelo Rios not a fan of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic

pj80

Legend

During an interview with ESPN Chile journalist Ricardo Shannon for the FShow, the Chilean – the only player to have been world No 1 in the ATP Rankings without winning a Grand Slam – said: “Federer for me is not a player that you see and you say ‘how entertaining’.

“I like the way he plays because he’s a guy with incredible ease, very intelligent on the court, very good. But he is not a Kyrgios, a Fognini that you see him and you are waiting for him to make a fuss, to leave a mess. That’s more entertaining.”

He added: “I don’t find Djokovic an entertaining guy on the court either.”

The former world No 1 continued: “Tennis has always had restrictions. If you swear, you get a fine; if you throw your racket, another fine. In press conferences you couldn’t talk bad things about anyone.

“Wimbledon makes you dress in white making you look like I don’t know what. Tennis is boring, it’s like watching cricket. Then a guy like Kyrgios comes out and revolutionises everything.

“He packs stadiums, it’s a spectacle. My personality was also a bit ‘wrong’. I used to attract a lot of attention by throwing rackets, or by saying ‘old f***’ (to an annoying lady in the crowd). People were entertained.”
 

ChrisRF

Legend

During an interview with ESPN Chile journalist Ricardo Shannon for the FShow, the Chilean – the only player to have been world No 1 in the ATP Rankings without winning a Grand Slam – said: “Federer for me is not a player that you see and you say ‘how entertaining’.

“I like the way he plays because he’s a guy with incredible ease, very intelligent on the court, very good. But he is not a Kyrgios, a Fognini that you see him and you are waiting for him to make a fuss, to leave a mess. That’s more entertaining.”

He added: “I don’t find Djokovic an entertaining guy on the court either.”

The former world No 1 continued: “Tennis has always had restrictions. If you swear, you get a fine; if you throw your racket, another fine. In press conferences you couldn’t talk bad things about anyone.

“Wimbledon makes you dress in white making you look like I don’t know what. Tennis is boring, it’s like watching cricket. Then a guy like Kyrgios comes out and revolutionises everything.

“He packs stadiums, it’s a spectacle. My personality was also a bit ‘wrong’. I used to attract a lot of attention by throwing rackets, or by saying ‘old f***’ (to an annoying lady in the crowd). People were entertained.”
What an absurd nonsense. If I want to see someone fooling around while playing tennis, I have to go 500 meters to my local club. If I want to see serious tennis, I watch Federer.

Rios also acts like stadiums were empty when Federer played, and now Kyrgios "packs" them. I can hardly imagine anyone who would rather travel somewhere to see Kyrgios than Federer. To be honest, I already cannot imagine travelling for just an hour only to see Kyrgios.
 
D

Deleted member 791948

Guest
LOL@Kyrgios packs stadiums.
Nadal packs stadiums.
Kyrgios isn't even on the center court often....
 
D

Deleted member 765728

Guest
rios.png
 
D

Deleted member 765728

Guest
Too bad Korda had to juice (nandrolone) to get to the AO final.
Nah that happened later at Wimbledon, he reached the AO final fair and square, where he wiped the floor with that overrated looney Rios.
 

hoodjem

G.O.A.T.

But he is not a Kyrgios, a Fognini that you see him and you are waiting for him to make a fuss, to leave a mess. That’s more entertaining.”

“Wimbledon makes you dress in white making you look like I don’t know what. Tennis is boring, it’s like watching cricket. Then a guy like Kyrgios comes out and revolutionises everything.

“He packs stadiums, it’s a spectacle. My personality was also a bit ‘wrong’. I used to attract a lot of attention by throwing rackets, or by saying ‘old f***’ (to an annoying lady in the crowd). People were entertained.”
If Kyrgios is "entertaining" and "revolutionizes everything," then I'll take whatever the opposite is.
 
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Mustard

Bionic Poster
LOL. Marcelo Rios always stirs the pot. I always remember Cliff Drysdale talking about how Rios was the rudest tennis player that he had ever met. Rios even got Ilie Nastase fuming once, and that's some achievement. Rios also had the odd pop at Guillermo Vilas, regarding the number 1 ranking "He was number 2, and I'm number 1" etc.
 
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Deleted member 765728

Guest
LOL. Marcelo Rios always stirs the pot. I always remember Cliff Drysdale talking about how Rios was the rudest tennis player that he had ever met. Rios even got Ilie Nastase fuming once, and that's some achievement. Rios also had the odd pop at Guillermo Vilas, regarding the number 1 ranking "He was number 2, and I'm number 1" etc.
Looooool, what!? He really said that? He can only dream about having the 1977 season and he dared to question VIlas's #1 spot? Damn, he is even worse than I though.
 

Mustard

Bionic Poster
Looooool, what!? He really said that? He can only dream about having the 1977 season and he dared to question VIlas's #1 spot? Damn, he is even worse than I though.
Yeah, he said it. It's a sensitive subject for Vilas of course, that he was never world number 1 officially, despite that amazing 1977 year; while Rios briefly was world number 1, despite never winning a major.
 

Mustard

Bionic Poster
He only got caught later in the year. You think he only used it that one time and not earlier in the year when he had his best result and only slam final? Wake up.
It's hard to know the absolute reality. Rusedski was cleared for virtually the same thing as Korda, and didn't get any more fallout. Canas was given a supplement on the court by an ATP doctor with a banned diuretic substance in it, and Coria sued a supplements company that didn't list a banned substance on the label. On the other hand, Puerta admitted deception and lying with his case recently to reduce an 8-year ban.
 
D

Deleted member 765728

Guest
He only got caught later in the year. You think he only used it that one time and not earlier in the year when he had his best result and only slam final? Wake up.
They test the players randomly and probably during more or less every tournament, and there was nothing that suggested that he was positive before Wimbledon 1998. Everything else is just a speculation.

And btw, it wasn't his only slam final, he reached the FO final in 1992, where he lost to Courier.
 
D

Deleted member 765728

Guest
Yeah, he said it. It's a sensitive subject for Vilas of course, that he was never world number 1 officially, despite that amazing 1977 year; while Rios briefly was world number 1, despite never winning a major.
And I'm 100% positive that's the reason why he made such comment, the guy is an A class jerk.
 

tennis3

Hall of Fame
Nothing offensive in what he said, just personal preferences. He specifically said "for me" and "I don't find", not "Federer and Djokovic are not entertaining".
Exactly. In the 1980's, I was more of a Lendl guy than a McEnroe guy. In the 1990's I was more for Sampras and didn't care for Agassi.

Given Rios' personality, his comments make perfect sense.
 

BorgTheGOAT

Legend
Meanwhile, you never achieved anything in tennis at all and are talking sh*t on a professional player that got to world #1, a slam final and won multiple Masters 1000s.

The irony.
Great, this over-hackneyed retort, very original my friend. Going by the logic of how much anyone in the forum achieved in tennis themselves, nobody here could say anything about any tennis player. I am talking **** on Rios for talking ****, he is talking **** on more successful players proactively just to get attention, that’s the difference. Take your time, you might get the hang of it.
 

Shaolin

Talk Tennis Guru
Great, this over-hackneyed retort, very original my friend. Going by the logic of how much anyone in the forum achieved in tennis themselves, nobody here could say anything about any tennis player. I am talking **** on Rios for talking ****, he is talking **** on more successful players proactively just to get attention, that’s the difference. Take your time, you might get the hang of it.

You're not my friend and I was using your own logic to show the idiocy of your reply.
 

Shaolin

Talk Tennis Guru
They test the players randomly and probably during more or less every tournament, and there was nothing that suggested that he was positive before Wimbledon 1998. Everything else is just a speculation.

And btw, it wasn't his only slam final, he reached the FO final in 1992, where he lost to Courier.

Pretty naive to think he wasn't juicing to reach the AO final when he was just busted for it months later.

I stand corrected on the 92 FO, that was a little before my time.
 

BorgTheGOAT

Legend
You're not my friend and I was using your own logic to show the idiocy of your reply.
I didn’t say out of nowhere that Rios didn’t draw crowds, but just commented on him saying so about others. Of course he can say whatever he wants but shouldn’t expect Fed or Djoko to care any more than what he cares about people talking **** about him in TTW.
 

Mustard

Bionic Poster
Apparently he packs stadiums.

Federer and Novak never do that.

It’s a Kyrevolution.
Rios means someone to be controversial, to make a fuss and mess. I'd have thought Djokovic does that, with his anti-vax, deportation and asking for entry as an unvaccinated foreigner, sagas. Kyrgios seems to like Djokovic since then, too.
 

Federev

G.O.A.T.
Rios means someone to be controversial, to make a fuss and mess. I'd have thought Djokovic does that, with his anti-vax, deportation and asking for entry as an unvaccinated foreigner, sagas. Kyrgios seems to like Djokovic since then, too.
I see.

Still, I feel like Novak - in the main - is appropriately walking out his convictions on the vaxx at this point.

Sure, he’s made serveral big blunders in the past w his own tournament, the AO debacle, and apparently being out in public knowingly w Covid when it seems like it was more dangerous. But I don’t think any of those blunders were at the level of blatant antagonism that Kyrgios shows folks. Nick has moved into people with anger and aggression first. Novak tries to do what he does from a place of personal advantage but civility. He’s in a different class altogether IMO.

Now…Srdjan on the other hand…
 

ibbi

G.O.A.T.
that you see him and you are waiting for him to make a fuss, to leave a mess. That’s more entertaining.”
That this is what he finds entertaining is hilarious, but that this is what he finds entertaining and he doesn't like Djokovic either? Once a troll, always a troll.
 

nolefam_2024

Bionic Poster
Rios gets too much hate. People forget how good he was or never saw him in his prime.
We didn't see many people in their primes. But Rios man seems to be a troll. He wants trolls to rule tennis. Only problem is if they were to win, they will have to smoothe their image in order to keep sponsors thereby reducing their trolling.
 

Mustard

Bionic Poster
We didn't see many people in their primes. But Rios man seems to be a troll. He wants trolls to rule tennis. Only problem is if they were to win, they will have to smoothe their image in order to keep sponsors thereby reducing their trolling.
When Rios became world number 1, some people said that he would have to change, that he had responsibilities now etc. He didn't change much at all.
 
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