Memories of Adriano Panatta

It was the Year Of Magic. It was 1976 and it would be the year of Adriano Panatta. It would be the year that he would win the Italian and French Opens back to back and spearhead Italy's historic win in Davis Cup competition. Panatta was probably the most fluid and graceful player to play the game and although he was primarily a clay court player his serve and volley game was among the best. We don't see such a blend of artistry and grace anymore and it's because of the racquets. Back then we played (Panatta and myself) with the Dunlop Maxply Fort, one of the best wood racquets around. It was great on groundstrokes and had fantastic feel for volleys and the finesse game. But the modern day racquets resemble a cannon rather than a tennis racquet with speeds on the serve approaching 150 miles per hour. The kind of style and grace that Panatta brought to the game will never be seen again. The game has become a clinic for offensive firepower and we're all the poorer for it.









Look at the way that Panatta leans into his sliced backhand using his left arm as a counterbalance in much the same way as a fencer. Also notice the he's playing with a Dunlop Maxply Fort in his early years on the tour. Later he would use the WIP Racquets which were basically an Italian version of the Dunlop Maxply. They looked identical and had the same laminations. I always wondered if the racquet was different enough to adversely affect his game. Only Panatta knows the answer to this question.


Panatta's exploits on the tour were chronicled in a May 1976 article in Playboy Magazine called Tennis Con Amore. The piece was somewhat controversial at the time as it painted an unflattering picture of some of the players. Panatta and his doubles partner, Paulo Bertulucci, were the jovial playboys just looking for a laugh. Arthur Ashe and Ilie Nastase came off looking good as well but some were not so fortunate. One player was characterized as a humorless drudge who resembled "an aging cart horse". Ouch. The article was hilarious and one couldn't help being a huge fan of Panatta after reading it.

But back to the game! It changed for the worse when the racquets became these huge cannons. The USTA should have made standards for size long ago. Because technology has influenced the game so much and because of the offensive firepower of the modern day tennis racquet we can't even begin to compare players of different eras. I long for the way the game used to be played. With style, grace and finesse. I've saved my Dunlops for posterity. Like me, they're relics of a bygone age. And like the game, there will never be anything like them again.




Panatta was the only player to ever beat Bjorn Borg at Roland Garros. Here's some of that quarterfinal match. Here's to the grace and style of Adriano Panatta, one of the greatest tennis players of all time.