Almost 30 exact years of a moment as tense as it is special. In 1993, but in November, a young Marcelo ‘Chino’ Rios He was the protagonist of an unusual event that remained in the history of Chilean sports: he “ruined” an unwritten rule of tennis and damaged TV.
At only 17 years old, and fighting for number 1 on the junior world circuit, the native of Vitacura began to appear in the media in our country.
The long-haired boy who wanted to get to the top was gradually becoming an attraction. The interest was so great that national television channels and newspapers moved to follow his journey abroad, even more so after he was crowned in the Yokohoma Super Junior, in Japan, in October.
Two months later, in December, the left-hander from Vitacura would make sure to end the season on a high in the legendary Orange Bowl, by reaching the quarterfinals, beating the Romanian Sabua, his main contender, in the round of 16.
The celebration in Chile: a ‘friendly’ against an extop-ten
Marcelo Ríos celebrated his feat on Japanese soil and quickly traveled to his homeland. The Chilean wanted to start preparing what would be his first experience in professionalism, a year later
While the athlete returned, the Chilean Tennis Federation decided to set up a ‘friendly’ confrontation for Ríos, with the idea that he could receive the affection of the fans live.
The party would be big. In front would be none other than Emilio Sanchez Vicarioexperienced Spanish tennis player who at his best (1990) had reached the 7th place in the planetary ranking.
The Central Court of the National Stadium was the setting chosen for this luxury exhibition that promised: the historic against the new. It was the first strong ‘squeeze’ for Ríos.
Everything was joy in the hosts of the national leadership, which sought to re-enchant the people after several years ‘disappeared from the map’ due to the absence of great talents. The ‘Chino’ was more than a simple bet.
The icing on the cake, at least in the previous one, was in charge of Megavisión. The private television signal acquired the rights and promised to broadcast the event.
The unwritten rule and the threat of the ‘Chino’: “I don’t have to give away a piece of crap”
The -at first- applauded irruption of the channel, yes, would end up causing problems and in the long run a hard break as the duel approached.
The mess began when Megavisión began to “pressure” the Federation and its entourage so that the confrontation would last at least two hours.
In this way, the signal could sell the advertising space necessary to recover the investment and also make a profit.
The book ‘The Stranger with Long Hair’, by journalist Nelson Flores, gives an account of this fact, with details, and assures that the leadership sent Hans Gildemeister to talk with Los Ríos. The idea? Convince him to play three sets.
Hans’s speech was to aim to the ‘unwritten rule’ For exhibition matches in this sport: the first set is played seriously, the second is won by the one who is losing (lowering their level if necessary by the one who is leading) and the third is played again at one hundred percent.
However, the response of “Chino” did not wait and shocked everyone: “Not shitting. I play to win. I don’t have to give any set or any crap to anyone. I do not accept. Let them all go to the crest, ”she warned with annoyance.
The match: beating and ‘headache’ on TV
Thus, with the tense atmosphere and with concern in the channel and the tennis leadership, Marcelo Ríos and Sánchez Vicario jumped onto the clay.
Ríos, as he had anticipated, went out to risk his life. He moved Vicario from side to side at the back of the court and, with two breaks, took the first set 6-3.
The second sleeve was coming and the faces of concern among the authorities was evident. Would “Chino” keep his words or would he comply with what was requested?
It only took a couple of games for everything to be sentenced: Ríos quickly broke his rival’s service and did not give up any option with his service: he took it 6-4.
Yes, Marcelo Ríos -who would end up being the first Latin American to be the best in the world as an adult five years later- missed the request of those in charge of the commitment and took the challenge in consecutive sets, in a little more than an hour.
“It has surprised me more than necessary. She has a great future, really, ”said the Spaniard sincerely.
Thus, the tennis player ‘ruined’ the television house’s desire to make large profits and the company could only sell the minimum to sponsors, leaving with more losses than gains. As if that were not enough, in addition, the block had to be ‘filled in’ because the programming contemplated a space of two hours. Just the ‘Chinese’.
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2023-07-21 22:16:22
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