Rios to return to ATP

VamosRafa

VamosRafa

Hall of Fame
After tearing up the seniors circuit, Rios has decided to play Vina del Mar. Is this a comeback???

RIOS TO COMPETE AT VINA DEL MAR

Marcelo Rios will return to ATP action in the Vina del Mar Open in January to complete a "historic" trio of homegrown stars taking part in the tournament.

Alvaro Fillol, who organises the tournament, confirmed that the former world number one will come out of retirement for the event, joining Chile's current highest-ranked players Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu.

"We'll have the three historic players of national tennis in the same tournament for the first time ever, because the last time Fernando and Nicolas played with Marcelo he was in the top 10 but they were only just starting their careers," Fillol told Radio Cooperativa.

"Now, it is the other way around. Marcelo is retired but we always think the three are first-class stars."

The 30-year-old Rios has not played as a professional since July 2004, when he decided to retire after a persistent back injury.

This year he made his bow on the senior's circuit, but the Vina del Mar Open will mark a one-off return to action on the professional tour.

http://www.sportinglife.com/tennis/...al_feed/06/11/27/TENNIS_Chi-Vina_Del_Mar.html
 
Is this for real ? It's hard to believe.

Rios is unlucky. If he continued playing, he would have better chance
these days because courts are slower.
He had to compete with all the tall serve-and-volleyers in 90's...

I definitely want to see how this very very talented LEFTY plays
with Federer...
 
He might lose a few matches trying to shake off the rust, but if he sticks with it I bet he could make it back to the Top 100.
 
fastdunn said:
Is this for real ? It's hard to believe.

Rios is unlucky. If he continued playing, he would have better chance
these days because courts are slower.
He had to compete with all the tall serve-and-volleyers in 90's...

I definitely want to see how this very very talented LEFTY plays
with Federer...
Click to expand...

Their styles are actually somewhat similiar. But Fed Ex takes the cake for a real serve and the mental tenacity of a true all time great. :) CC
 
onkystomper said:
um, he is only playing this one tournament so i would not hold your breath
Click to expand...

He retired early, and has done extremely well on the Senior Tour, which has probably boosted his confidence and made him want to play real professional tourneys, so I doubt he'll only play 1 tournament. If he wins a match he will probably be hooked.
 
i for one would like to see rios stay on the atp tour, and see how he does...especially like maybe some 1st rd matches with the top players early in 2007 as he works his way up the ranks

at least i hope he's intending to play on the atp tour for more than just 1 tournament
 
looseswing said:
Is there anyone good playing besides Massu and Gonzalez?
Click to expand...

We'll just have to wait until Jan 28th rolls around now won't we.

Anyways, I thought the main reason Rios wasn't on the ATP circuit was because the schedule is too rigorous for him. I could see how he could get bored winning all the time in the seniors' events, maybe he just wants a new challenge.
 
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I could see how he could get bored winning all the time in the seniors' events, maybe he just wants a new challenge.
Click to expand...

fastdunn is right, conditions were too fast in the 90s for short Rios to be a consistent threat. conditions today are much better for him.

this is how he did at the frankfurt senior event a few weeks ago, on a very fast surface(which of course he complained about):

Marcelo Rios d. Anders Jarryd 7-6(1), 7-5
Paul Haarhuis d. Marcelo Rios 6-3 7-6(3)
Goran Ivanisevic d. Marcelo Rios 7-6, 6-4
(Goran served 22 aces!)

looks like he has enough of a challenge on the senior tour, unless played on a slow surface, which favors him.
 
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But until Frankfurt, Moose, Rios had gone undefeated on the seniors tour. He had won 25 matches in a row, over six tournaments. So he wasn't exactly being pushed around.
 
VamosRafa said:
But until Frankfurt, Moose, Rios had gone undefeated on the seniors tour. He had won 25 matches in a row, over six tournaments. So he wasn't exactly being pushed around.
Click to expand...

At the pro level, there is a 'figuring out' of one's game that goes on. They just hadn't seen his lefty game for a while. I predict he will not continue to win at that same pace against the likes of Ivo, Becker, Martin, etc. CC
 
Craig A. Clark said:
At the pro level, there is a 'figuring out' of one's game that goes on. They just hadn't seen his lefty game for a while. I predict he will not continue to win at that same pace against the likes of Ivo, Becker, Martin, etc. CC
Click to expand...

Please tell me you don't mean "they haven't played enough lefties," because I seem to recall Ivanisevic, McEnroe, Steeb, and Leconte also being in the top 10 on the senior tour, making the total of them about 50-50 lefties to righties in that top-ten segment. To suggest the players don't get exposure to lefties is a joke. Maybe it's got something to do with his particular form of agressive play, or something like that, but I doubt it. Otherwise, you'd have said that instead of lefty.
 
I hope Rios comes back..haven't really seen him play much. So I take it he was like Agassi but maybe even better strokes.
 
fastdunn said:
I definitely want to see how this very very talented LEFTY plays
with Federer...
Click to expand...

Federer has a 2-0 record against Rios, with both matches played in 2002.

Just because Federer has had issues playing Nadal doesn't mean he has problems playing left-handed players. I realize that Nadal's looping spins negate Federer's backhand, but I think Nadal's success comes primarily from his in-your-face competitiveness and hustle. I'm not sure Rios has that same desire in competition (which is one of the reasons he didn't win any Slams, despite his talent). That same issue is what I think may limit his chances in a comeback attempt.
 
omniexist said:
I hope Rios comes back..haven't really seen him play much. So I take it he was like Agassi but maybe even better strokes.
Click to expand...

Rios was one of those silky smooth baseliners with great hands, but I don't like the comparison with Agassi. Agassi had great hands also, but his game was more power oriented... and built around a world-class forehand and return game. Rios was a shotmaker, but he was more likely to awe you with a wicked angle or soft drop shot instead of a huge blasting winner.

(I'm not sure who to really compare Rios to on today's tour. For an old school comparison, I'd say Rios was like Miloslav Mecir with a much better serve.)
 
But until Frankfurt, Moose, Rios had gone undefeated on the seniors tour. He had won 25 matches in a row, over six tournaments. So he wasn't exactly being pushed around.
Click to expand...

The event prior to Frankfurt he almost lost, so there are signs the gap is closing:
Marcelo Rios d Richard Krajicek 4-6, 6-3, 10-6

Please tell me you don't mean "they haven't played enough lefties," because I seem to recall Ivanisevic, McEnroe, Steeb, and Leconte also being in the top 10 on the senior tour, making the total of them about 50-50 lefties to righties in that top-ten segment. To suggest the players don't get exposure to lefties is a joke. Maybe it's got something to do with his particular form of agressive play, or something like that, but I doubt it. Otherwise, you'd have said that instead of lefty.
Click to expand...

The main reason he does so well is that he is so much younger than virtually everyone on that tour. If he couldn't beat Mac, Cash, or Leconte handily, that would be a sign that he was probably extremely far off his playing weight(which many on this tour are)

But there is a "figuring out" even on this tour. Not all are supercompetitive, like Goran. After losing to Rios, he said he would get more serious about his training & did, beating him in Frankfurt.

Plus Rios has never had to play Courier or Todd Martin yet(Martin even has a win over Rios on clay!), who both play the American tour. Or Magnus Larsson who could roll out of bed & destroy anyone on this tour(like he did at Memphis a few weeks ago, too bad the guy is a no-name or he would get invited to more senior events)

Rios is lucky that Enqvist hasn't joined the tour as well.
 
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fastdunn said:
Is this for real ? It's hard to believe.

Rios is unlucky. If he continued playing, he would have better chance
these days because courts are slower.
He had to compete with all the tall serve-and-volleyers in 90's...

I definitely want to see how this very very talented LEFTY plays
with Federer...
Click to expand...


Why? To see a massacre. A 31-year old has been who has reached 1 slam final playing Federer. That would be a laugher.
 
Feña14 said:
Last year Acasuso won. Some players in the draw were Gaudio, Calleri, Del Porto, Horna.

I class those as good players :)
Click to expand...
I thought that you are talking about Chile

In Vina tournament, usually are some good players, (kuerten,gaudio,gonzales,massu,some brasilians some spains etc)
 
Moose Malloy said:
Plus Rios has never had to play Courier or Todd Martin yet(Martin even has a win over Rios on clay!), who both play the American tour. Or Magnus Larsson who could roll out of bed & destroy anyone on this tour(like he did at Memphis a few weeks ago, too bad the guy is a no-name or he would get invited to more senior events)

Rios is lucky that Enqvist hasn't joined the tour as well.
Click to expand...
http://www.atptennis.com/3/en/players/headtohead/default.asp?playernum1=R286&playernum2=C243
rios has a 3-0 record over courier, but i also think martin, larsson or enqvist could give him problems...
 
IF he still has the Foot speed, then he probably still has the hand speed and shotmaking. But after getting that fat and losing weight, he probably lost half a step or more...............
 
I was at Indian Wells a few years ago when Rios played Agassi. Before the match Agassi was boasting that he was going to see if Rios could handle his heat. Well, he more than handled it, Rios went on to beat him. At the time I didn't know very much about Marcelo, routing for Agassi, but as the match wore on, I was amazed at the variety in his game. Like a silly young kid, I went out and bought his racquet hoping to reproduce his shots. :-)
I don't envision him playing much in the ATP. I do hope I can catch some of the match on TV.
 
People who like tennis and say in this forum that Rios is just a regular player is because they dont know anything about tenis, or they saw few and bad matches for Rios, or just because they are too young and ignorants.

The Rios number is not a big deal, no Slam, few master series, no davis cup, 1 week like number one ,,, nobody remember a player for that ordinary records.

However his tennis was special, just "special" and people like IN210S knows what im talking about.

For those ignorant I strongly recommend visit my blog about Rios and see some hhiglhlights that i have been preparing

http://chino.blog.terra.cl

let me know if some video is expired

Thanks Marcelo Rios for show me that tennis is much more that hard training and hard services,,,, thank you Marcelo for show me the "magic" in this beautifull sport

Marcelo you are The Maradona in tennis

let me know if you have seen a tennis player doing this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpRhITZC1lo
 
Rios was an incredibly talented underachiever. One of the best strikers of the ball in the last 20 years. He could conjure up ridiculous angles and was a real pain for serve-and-volleyers to play b/c he had some of the, if not the, best passing shots in tennis. The highlights from his matches against Henman, Krajicek and Rusedski are prime examples.

His lone GS final in Australia in 1998 was a battle of the supremely talented underachievers, Rios and Petr Korda. Korda struck the ball just as well but had much flatter strokes. Korda won that day b/c he was mentally tougher, always Rios' achilles heel.

Korda was tainted soon thereafter by a postive test for nandrolone, probably unfairly given recent cases and advancements in drug testing plus the revelations that banned substances were found in supplements handed out by the ATP trainers for many years. He never recovered and faded away soon thereafter.

Rios' injuries got the best of him and he never recovered his top form.
 
This should be interesting. I've said it a million times on the this board, when talking about pure natural talent these names come to mind, Agassi, Federer, Safin and Rios.
 
The SUDDEN and immediate disappearance of such an entertaining talent better make US all appreciate Federer. Imagine if this guy was to suddenly get injured and disappear. What a void that would be.
 
I still can't believe they let Rios play in the Champions Tour in the 1st place. There should be an age limit. He is owning on the Champions Tour. Oh yeah, big deal! He is significantly younger than the next youngest guy on the tour. Rios can still compete in the ATP Tour, though I don't think he'll ever break the top 20 again. He's just hiding away on the Champions Tour so he can be #1 at something. Pathetic!
 
So what's the status of Rios and ATP ?
Will he ever play a ATP event or not ?
I'm not talking about a full comeback.....
 
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