Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga (Latin American Spanish: [maɾˈselo ˈri.os]; born 26 December 1975) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. In 1998, he was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), becoming the first such Latin American. Ríos won 18 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including five Masters events, and was the runner-up at the 1998 Australian Open. He is the only man to have been world No. 1 in the ATP singles rankings without ever winning a major singles tournament.
Ríos was the first player to win all three clay court Masters tournaments (Monte Carlo, Rome, and Hamburg) since the format began in 1990. He was also the third man (after Michael Chang and Pete Sampras) to complete the Sunshine Double (winning Indian Wells and Miami Masters in the same year), which he achieved in 1998. At 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in), Ríos is the shortest man to hold the number 1 ranking. He also held the top ranking in juniors.
Ríos retired from the sport in July 2004 due to a long-term back injury. He played his last ATP Tour-level tournament while only 27 years old at the 2003 French Open.
Ríos turned professional in 1994 and finished 1997, 1998, and 1999 as a top-ten player. Ríos won a total of 18 top-level singles titles and one top-level doubles title during his career.
Ríos began playing tennis at the age of 11 at the Sport Francés golf club in Vitacura (Greater Santiago), adjacent to his house.
As a junior, Ríos reached as high as No. 1 in singles and No. 141 in doubles.
Ríos reached the semifinals of the junior French Open in 1993 without dropping a set, where he was defeated by Roberto Carretero-Diaz in straight sets, and won the junior US Open in 1993 while only dropping one set during the entire tournament. He also won his first Satellite tournament in Chile.
This was Ríos' first year as a professional player, and he quickly began to acquire international fame after his participation at Roland Garros, where, at just 18 years of age, he faced Pete Sampras in the second round, fighting a hard battle before eventually losing 6–7, 6–7, 4–6. His left-handed ability, plus his novel long hair and backwards visor, drew the attention of the media. The same year he won his first Challenger in Dresden, Germany.
In May 1995, aged 19, Ríos won his first tournament title in Bologna defeating Marcelo Filippini of Uruguay 6–2, 6–4, and breaking into the world's top 50 for the first time. Then in June, he won at Amsterdam in both singles (against Jan Siemerink, 6–4, 7–5, 6–4) and doubles (with Sjeng Schalken) and won the tournament in Kuala Lumpur against Mark Philippoussis 7–6, 6–2. He also reached the final of his home country's ATP tournament in Santiago. Ríos ended the year ranked No. 25 in the world.
His achievements this year included excellent performances in the Masters Series (then called Super 9) tournaments. He reached the quarterfinals in Masters Series of Stuttgart and Rome, and the semifinals in Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, and Canada. In Sankt Pölten, Austria, he won his fourth career title by defeating the Spaniard Félix Mantilla 6–1, 6–4. Ríos again reached the final in Santiago, and also reached the finals in Barcelona and Scottsdale. For much of the year Ríos would be ranked in the top 10, becoming the first Chilean in history to do so. He finished the year ranked number 11.
In 1997 for the first time in Ríos' career he reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open and again at the US Open. He also won his first Masters title at Monte Carlo; after a first round bye, he beat Andrea Gaudenzi, Albert Costa, Carlos Moyá, Magnus Larsson, and, in the final, Àlex Corretja, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3. Two weeks later, he lost in the final of the Rome Masters against the same Spaniard. Other successes for the year included the quarterfinals (again) in the Stuttgart Masters and the finals in Marseille, Boston, and (for the third time) in Santiago. Ríos had a very consistent 1997 season, being the only player to reach the fourth round or better on all Grand Slams. Ríos went as high as No. 6 during the year, and ended the year in the top ten for the first time, being No. 10.
1998: World No. 1 in singles, first Grand Slam final
The year 1998 brought the peak of his career, when he reached the No. 1 spot in the world. He won the tournament (the first of the year) in Auckland, New Zealand, against Richard Fromberg, then reached the final of the Australian Open, beating Grant Stafford, Thomas Enqvist, Andrew Ilie, Lionel Roux, Alberto Berasategui and Nicolas Escudé before losing to Petr Korda in a lopsided 2–6, 2–6, 2–6 that lasted 1 hour and 25 minutes. The following months brought successes such as the title of the Super 9 (the current Masters Series) at Indian Wells, where he defeated British Greg Rusedski in the final.
The consummation came in the final at Key Biscayne, Florida, under the guidance of his coach Larry Stefanki. After victories over Hendrik Dreekmann, Tommy Haas, and Goran Ivanišević, Ríos beat Thomas Enqvist in the quarterfinals and Tim Henman in the semifinals. In the final on 29 March, Ríos defeated Andre Agassi 7–5, 6–3, 6–4. In Chile, thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate the triumph of the first Chilean, Latin and indeed Spanish speaking player to reach the sport's No. 1 ranking, grabbing the position from Pete Sampras (who had maintained 102 consecutive weeks at No. 1, and five years ending the season as the leader). In the days ahead, there was a crowded reception leading Ríos to then president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle on La Moneda Palace, with around 10,000 people cheering at the palace's surroundings. Ríos' No. 1 ranking lasted four weeks; he lost it after being unable to defend the title at Monte Carlo because of an injury suffered in the Davis Cup while defeating Hernán Gumy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In May, he reached the quarterfinals of the French Open losing to eventual champion Carlos Moyá.
In June, at Wimbledon, Ríos was upset in the first round by Francisco Clavet. However, on 10 August, Ríos regained the No. 1 spot for another two weeks. In September, he lost at third round of the US Open to Magnus Larsson. During this season, Ríos also won the Rome Masters against Albert Costa, who withdrew from the final, Sankt Pölten by defeating Vincent Spadea, the Grand Slam Cup against Andre Agassi, and Singapore by defeating Mark Woodforde. Furthermore, he reached the quarterfinals of the Stuttgart Masters and Paris Masters. In 1998, Ríos won seven titles, including three Masters Series titles, and reached the final of the Australian Open. On 27 July of that year, he reached the maximum number of points achieved throughout his career: 3719 (according to the scoring system used prior to the year 2000). He ended the year ranked No. 2 behind Pete Sampras, who topped the world rankings for a sixth consecutive year.
1999: Continued success and beginning of injuries
Ríos maintained a high level throughout 1999, although his game was interrupted by repeated injuries and surgeries. This prevented him from defending the points achieved by reaching the final of the Australian Open the previous year, so he fell several places in the rankings. He reached the final of the Monte Carlo Masters, but after trailing 4–6, 1–2, he had to retire due to a new injury, handing the tournament to Gustavo Kuerten. Ríos subsequently won the Hamburg Masters in a match that lasted more than four hours against Mariano Zabaleta; two weeks later he became champion in Sankt Pölten for the second consecutive time against the same Argentine, who, this time, had to retire during the first set at 4–4. In October, he won at Singapore and reached the final in Beijing, losing to Magnus Norman. He also reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and the Stuttgart Masters. Despite many injuries he suffered and surgeries he underwent, Ríos would complete his third consecutive year as a top-ten player, at world No. 9.