Marcelo Rios not a fan of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as they are not ‘entertaining,’ describes tennis as ‘boring’

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Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer Wimbledon Centre Court

Marcelo Rios has never been someone who beats around the bush and he didn’t hold back in his latest comments about Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and the restrictive nature of tennis.

Back in 1998 after he became world No 3, Rios was described as “the most hated man in tennis” due to his “boorish behaviour” while he infamously once told Monica Seles to “get your fat a*** out of my way” while they were attending dinner at Wimbledon.

Rios has also made it clear in the past that he was never a fan of the “boring” tennis culture so it is not too big a surprise that he doesn’t like two of the sport’s all-time greats in Federer or Djokovic as he feels they are not “entertaining”.

Unsurprisingly he prefers to watch “bad boys” like Nick Kyrgios and Fabio Fognini with both players often in the news for throwing their rackets during matches, having a go at fans and their general unsporting behaviour on the court.

During an interview with ESPN Chile journalist Ricardo Shannon for the FShow, the Chilean – the only player to have been world No 1 in the ATP Rankings without winning a Grand Slam – said: “Federer for me is not a player that you see and you say ‘how entertaining’.

“I like the way he plays because he’s a guy with incredible ease, very intelligent on the court, very good. But he is not a Kyrgios, a Fognini that you see him and you are waiting for him to make a fuss, to leave a mess. That’s more entertaining.”

He added: “I don’t find Djokovic an entertaining guy on the court either.”

READ MORE: ‘Plain horrible’ Marcelo Rios’ infamous digs at Monica Seles and Wimbledon

Rios – once described by the controversial Ilie Nastase as “the worst p**ck I ever met” – also slammed Wimbledon and tennis’ culture of being too perfect.

The former world No 1 continued: “Tennis has always had restrictions. If you swear, you get a fine; if you throw your racket, another fine. In press conferences you couldn’t talk bad things about anyone.

“Wimbledon makes you dress in white making you look like I don’t know what. Tennis is boring, it’s like watching cricket. Then a guy like Kyrgios comes out and revolutionises everything.

“He packs stadiums, it’s a spectacle. My personality was also a bit ‘wrong’. I used to attract a lot of attention by throwing rackets, or by saying ‘old f***’ (to an annoying lady in the crowd). People were entertained.”

Marcelo Rios Nick Kyrgios Novak Djokovic Roger Federer

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