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INSIDE TENNIS

The Makings of a Champion?

by L. Jon Wertheim

Posted: Wed August 19, 1998

Marcelo Rios's reign as No. 1 won't be remembered as a golden era. He vaulted to the top of the ATP computer rankings on March 30, becoming the first No. 1 never to have won a Grand Slam event. After playing one Davis Cup match for Chile, he was felled by tendinitis in his left elbow, and his incumbency lasted less than a month. On Aug. 10 Rios again moved to No. 1, after Pete Sampras lost at the du Maurier Open. But the next day Rios lost in the second round of the ATP Championships in Cincinnati to Daniel Vacek, a doubles specialist ranked 53rd in singles. He was typically gracious in defeat: "I don't like playing at night." Added Rios, who's fast gaining a reputation as the most egregious tanker since the Exxon Valdez, "I don't think he beat me because he played better. I just missed a lot of shots."

Still, the vagaries of the ranking system being what they are, Rios held onto the top spot when Sampras lost in the ATP final to Patrick Rafter.

Issue date: August 24, 1998

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The Makings of a Champion?

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