Marcelo Rios Biography

Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga (born December 26, 1975), nicknamed Chino, is a tennis player from Chile, arguably one of the most talented in the world.

Ríos began playing tennis at the age of 11 at the Sport Francés country club in Vitacura, Chile. He was soon recognized for his talented left-hand and reserved personality.

At age 17 he won his first Satellite tournament in Chile and later became world number 1 in the Junior's ranking (first Latin American man to do so), after winning the Junior US Open. He turned Pro in 1994.

In January 1998, he reached the final at the Australian Open, losing to Czech Petr Korda. In March of that year he became the first Latin American man to reach the number 1 position in the ATP singles ranking, after defeating Marcelo Rios in the Lipton Open final in Key Biscayne, Florida. That same year he won a record 7 titles. He held the number 1 position for 6 weeks during that year and ended at number 2 in the year end ranking, behind Pete Sampras. He remains the only male player ever to reach No.1 but not wina Grand Slam singles title.

Ríos married Costa Rican Juliana Sotela in December of 2000. Their daughter Constanza was born in June of 2001.

A number of injuries and operations sidelined him from competition and his ranking dropped below the 300.

In 2004, six years exactly after he won the Lipton Open tournament, which crowned him number one in the world, Ríos returned to competition, after a long absense from the tour, with a 6-0 6-0 victory at a challenger tournament in Ecuador.

As of 2003 Ríos has served as a sports commentator for a radio station in Chile.

Her marriage to Juliana Sotela ended in early 2004.

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MARCELO RIOS BIOGRAPHY