In a recent interview, coach Larry Stefanki compares two of his former students, former No. 1 Marcelo Rios and former Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez, who will retire after this week’s tournament in Miami.
"Fernando and Marcelo were totally different, the way they challenged themselves, the way they looked at life," Stefanki told ESPN.com. "I had probably the most success with Rios. I'm very proud of how much improvement he made because the naysayers said he was too small, too slow, too this, too that, and he got to No. 1. But as a friend, person, athlete, and what he accomplished, I'm as proud of Fernando as I am of anybody."
Stefanki currently coaches Andy Roddick, and also coached John McEnroe, Tim Henman, and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
"None of the guys I've ever really coached had that sensitivity and that unselfishness like Fernando, always concerned about how my family was doing," Stefanki said. "That's what I think of [when thinking of Gonzalez], not one specific memory."