NEWSWEEK CHAMPIONS CUP

March 15, 1998

Marcelo Rios

MIKI SINGH: Marcelo Rios is our 1998 Indian Wells Newsweek Champions Cup winner. It's his seventh career ATP Tour title, second career Mercedes Super 9 title. First question for Marcelo.

MARCELO RIOS: I think one time I played Davis Cup, one against Nestor, in Canada. I'm not sure. I think this was one of the longest. What was the score?

MIKI SINGH: Longest tiebreaker of the year.

MARCELO RIOS: I think it's tough to count when you're in there. Maybe four, five.

MARCELO RIOS: Yeah. I thought we were going to play a lot of tiebreaks, because of him serving big. I knew I was going to hold my serve really easy, baseline he's not very good, he's good on volleys and serve. After I broke him first game of the match, I think that was big. I returned three good balls. When I had the set points. I think I played pretty smart, holding my serve, tried to break him once. I think I did pretty good.

MARCELO RIOS: What was that?

MARCELO RIOS: I don't think so. I think that's have to be nothing with the game. It's not a big point, if you receive or you serve first game.

MARCELO RIOS: Yeah, I think you grew with this a little bit like more in your game, realize that you can win Slams. I think that give you a lot of confidence. After Australia, I realize I can be probably the ranking with those things better, I be working hard to do it. I'd be working really hard, like realizing I can do much better than what I'm doing.

MARCELO RIOS: I think all tennis players have strategy before going to the court. Like I said, I knew he was going to serve big, I would have not many breakpoints. I would have to hold my serve. Going to the tiebreak, I win the tiebreak.

MARCELO RIOS: Well, I think I started from worse to better. Was my first match after two weeks, my first match of the week. I been playing much better each day. I think it's a great win. He's a good hardcourt player, I beat him in the final of a Super 9, it's like to say that I'm playing pretty good.

MARCELO RIOS: I think it's a big step in my career. Really you can see that you can be even No. 1, if you play good. You realize many things. One year ago maybe I was 20, now I'm 3, so you realize you can do a lot better. That give you more confidence, you get more energy to it, to keep on going, try to be better each day.

MARCELO RIOS: If I have improved my mind?

MARCELO RIOS: Yeah, I think so. I think I'm growing like in the game, being like more smart to play, being more focused every match. Even if I lost a set 7-6, a long tiebreak, I go down, but I'm trying to improve that. Stay focus. Even if you play a long tiebreaker, try to keep it until the match it is over.

MARCELO RIOS: Yeah, I think everybody get upset. It's really tough to be playing a tiebreaker, a big match, and like maybe the linesmen or umpire makes some mistake. The bad thing, the umpire always have the last word, he think he's always right. You have nothing.

MARCELO RIOS: It's nothing to say that I'm not nice. I think I'm not nice.

MARCELO RIOS: (Shaking head.)

MARCELO RIOS: I don't care.

MARCELO RIOS: Not at all.

MARCELO RIOS: I never have that much problem with the media. I think there's certain guys that they try to pull you down. I think it's all over the world like that. In my country, there's a lot of journalists, they invent things or like try to take the bad things to pull you down. Sports are doing good, they try to pull them down. I don't know what's the deal. They don't have nothing to do, they just do that.

MARCELO RIOS: I'm not journalist. Ask the other journalists.

MARCELO RIOS: Yeah, it's strange. Instead of helping the player to get up, they try. But that's life.

MARCELO RIOS: I think -- I don't think it's that big. I think soccer is the biggest sport. I'm the only one playing on the Tour, playing like big tournaments like that. I think it's not that big. I think football is much bigger there in Chile.

MARCELO RIOS: Nobody.

MARCELO RIOS: No.

MARCELO RIOS: Yes.

MARCELO RIOS: I know him, not like real close friends, but I've seen him a couple of times, have talked to him. I know him.

MARCELO RIOS: Yeah, I'm not (rolling eyes).

MARCELO RIOS: That's a good question. I think when I was young, I want to be a soccer player. But I think it's tough. It's tough to play on a team, 11 guys. You got to be really good to have like a name, be really like well-known in soccer. In Chile, we got like three good soccer players, that's it. It would be tough.

MARCELO RIOS: I don't know if I would have been losing. I don't think I'd be doing much better than tennis.

MARCELO RIOS: How I celebrate? Well, I have a flight now at 4:30, so I'm going to celebrate on the plane.

MARCELO RIOS: I just say no. He just told me I'm not big in Chile.

MARCELO RIOS: Soccer players are bigger.

MARCELO RIOS: Sure.

MARCELO RIOS: Well, it's not like -- I don't have names. You always take a little bit from everybody. Everybody do some things good. I don't have a name to say like I admire.

MARCELO RIOS: I come from Chile. I didn't see so many matches when I was younger. There was no good players, so they didn't show any matches. It was mostly soccer. Like I said, I never saw play McEnroe, Connors, Vilas, all those people.

MARCELO RIOS: Well, I hated school was the first thing, I didn't want to go to school (laughter). When they told me, "You want to play tennis or go to school," I didn't think twice, I just go and play tennis. Like in Chile, it's really tough to do the sport because schools are really like strict, don't give you much time to do what you want. I got to like take a chance, go to school or -- So I went to South America, like they play nine tournaments, juniors. They say if I do good, I'm going to start playing tennis. I won like nine out of ten tournaments. That's why I say, "Okay, I'm going to try."

MARCELO RIOS: I finished all my school until the 12 years, I did everything. I was not kicked out of school, like most journalists say. I didn't do the last three years. I did like three exams and studied in the mornings and do it at the end of the year.

MARCELO RIOS: Yeah.

MARCELO RIOS: Well, I think he helped me a lot in my mind. Like I say, try to play hard. Even if you losing, try to don't give up, to try hard every set and every game. Also, improve my coming in, try to stay focused all the match.

MARCELO RIOS: Yes.

MARCELO RIOS: It's a long story, too long.

MARCELO RIOS: I read in the paper that I was not nice, so I said that's it, I'm not nice. I don't have like anything to say.

MARCELO RIOS: Sometimes.

MARCELO RIOS: I'm not nice when I win a tournament.

MARCELO RIOS: I think it's going to help a lot. Like when I start playing tennis, I was doing good, there's a lot of people, kids, I did some clinics, there's like 500 kids want to play, using the same racquet, same clothes. Tennis in Chile, there's a lot of kids that want to be like me. So I think it's growing a lot, it's helping a lot, now that I have win a tournament now, find like everybody go there. Normally not many tennis players. One is doing good, now they want to do more.

MARCELO RIOS: I think I have a lot of chances now come the clay season. I think we have a lot of tournaments on clay. I play a lot of tournaments on clay now. I think I can do pretty good.

MARCELO RIOS: Well, Wimbledon, that's a tough one. I'm playing Wimbledon this year. I'm try to improve my game on grass. That's it.

MARCELO RIOS: I don't say that. I did pretty good, fourth round, played really good matches. It's not my strong surface. I play only like three times on grass. In my country, we don't have a grass court. It's not really that easy to go and play Wimbledon.