Marcelo Ríos, the Chilean former tennis player, is a huge character for many reasons. You can always earn with 1xBet betting when wagering on tennis players too. He is remembered for things like:
- being the first South American tennis player to reach the number 1 spot of the ATP rankings;
- his undeniable talent;
- and for being really outspoken and talking without filters at all.
It was precisely the latter that marked a bizarre occurrence early in the career of the Chilean legend. Bettors can earn by betting with 1xBet, where you can also wager on amazing tennis competitions.
Organizing a tennis party
In 1993, Ríos was only 17 years old. At that moment he was seen as a player with a huge potential and an incredible talent. In fact, at that time he was almost reaching the number 1 juniors ranking. Make sure to take advantage of the full line 1xBet, and use it on other exceptional tennis players too.
In early 1993, Ríos was getting ready to face his first season as a fully professional player. For this reason, the Chilean tennis federation decided to organize an exhibition match between him and Emilio Sánchez Vicario. The latter is a Spanish former tennis player who reached the 7th place of the ATP rankings in 1990. The 1xBet platform has a full betting line that all punters can also use to wager on other great tennis performers.
Chilean fans were very enthusiastic about watching Ríos play. This was because many years had passed where Chile didn’t have a potentially world-class player. TV stations fought to secure the rights of the event.
An outrageous proposal
Chilean TV channel Megavisión secured the rights to broadcast the match. By the way, you can 1xBet livestream watch now other excellent tennis matches too. However, the station had a very specific request to Marcelo Ríos: the match had to be at least 2 hours long. This was asked so the station could get some juicy sponsorship contracts.
The TV station asked Ríos to follow the “unwritten rule of tennis exhibitions”. It states that the first set is played at top level. Then, the winner of the first set allows the other player to win the second set. Finally, the third set is played again at top level.
Ríos became furious after hearing this petition. He basically said that “he played for winning”, and that “he wouldn’t concede anything”. He stormed out of the meeting, sending the TV channel “very far away”. Of course, he didn’t say those exact words, but you get the idea.
Ríos easily won the match, which lasted around 1 hour, with a score of 6-3 and 6-4. Megavisión was unable to get all the earnings from sponsorship contracts they wanted. Make sure to watch the 1xBet livestreams now, and use them to follow other great players too.