By Nick Georgandis
Tennis exhibitions have been played just about everywhere on earth in recent years - even on a helipad 700 feet off the ground on the Burj Al Arab artificial island.
From that height, there's nowhere to go but down, which is exactly what former South American pros Marcelo Rios and Guillermo Coria plan to accomplish when they play one another in an exhibition 1,500 meters (about 4,900 feet) deep inside a Chilean copper mine in March.
The mine, El Teniente, is the largest of its kind in the world. Its name translates to "The Lieutenant."
"A tennis court of clay and cement will be built," event representative Juan Romero told Chilean newspaper El Mercurio. "This event will go down in the history of our country."
The 37-year-old Rios, a native of Chile, played 10 years, reaching No. 1 in the world in 1998 and making the 1998 Australian Open final. He retired in 2004.
Argentina's Coria, who will turn 31 in two weeks, retired in 2009 after 10 years on tour that saw him reach No. 3 in the world and play for the French Open title in 2004.