When Italy’s Adriano Panatta Won The Italian Open Men’s Singles Title

by Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

When Adriano Panatta won the Italian Open in Rome in 1976, he was the first Italian to win the men’s singles title in 15 years, since Nicola Pietrangel won the title in 1961 beating Rod Laver in the final. While Panatta won the singles final defeating Guillermo Vilas in the final by a 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) scoreline, there were two instances where Panatta was on the verge of elimination that year.

As documented in the book “On This Day In Tennis History” (for sale and download here https://a.co/d/3a2riRG) on May 25, 1976, Panatta had to survive 11 match points against him when facing the Australian Kim Warwick in the first round. Panatta survived by a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 score, but then in the quarterfinals, faced more adversity. The following is the except of Panatta’s controveial quarterfinal win over Harold Solomon from the May 28 chapter of the “On This Day In Tennis History” book.

May 28, 1976 – Harold Solomon walks off the court in disgust, forfeiting his quarterfinal match at the Italian Open in Rome against Adriano Panatta after questioning the call of a linesman and the chair umpire, despite serving for the match leading 5-4 in the third set. Trailing 0-15 in the 10^th game of the final set, Solomon questions the call of Panatta’s backhand return, which is called good by the linesman and the chair umpire. Says Solomon, who loses the match by a 6-2, 5-7, 4-5, default, scoreline, “I pointed to the mark where the ball landed and told Adriano I’d show him where it hit, but the referee stopped him from coming around the net and told me to continue the match or get off. I was disqualified and for no reason. The referee told me the crowd was going crazy and to play or get off, but he wouldn’t let me explain so I said something a little stronger than “good-bye” and left.”

Just three days after his triumph in Rome, Panatta was in Paris competing in the first round of the French Open and had to escape once again from the jaws of defeat en route to the title, the greatest win of his career. Bud Collins reviewed Panatta’s Rome-Paris double in his historic book “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” (for sale and download here: https://a.co/d/39bD5fG) as can be read below.

Panatta, the handsome and dashing Italian No. 1, won the French during a dazzling 16-match winning streak that established him as the king of European clay for the year. Panatta was superb, dispatching Borg, 6-3, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-2) in the quarterfinals, Eddie Dibbs in the semifinals, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and the “Human Grindstone,” Solomon, 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), in the sweltering final.  However, Adriano was nearly a dead duck from the start, facing a match point in the first round against Czech Pavel Hutka, and rescuing it with a stretching volley in the fifth set to win, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, 0-6, 12-10.

At the Italian Open, Panatta withstood 11 match points against Aussie Kim Warwick in the first round, winning, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, then went on to win the title before his adoring hometown fans in Rome, beating Vilas in the final, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 7-6 (7-1). He got a big break in the quarterfinals when gutsy little Solomon was beating him, 2-6, 7-5, 5-4 with serve. At 0-15 Panatta lobbed—clearly long—but the line judge signaled the ball to be good in an ordinary display of patriotism. But Solly blew up, losing his temper and the match by walking away.