PARIS (AP) 鈥� Adriano Panatta was expecting to award the trophy to 50 years after his triumph in Paris.
Turns out he might still hand over the Coupe des Mousquetaires to a fellow Italian after the men鈥檚 singles final on Sunday after being invited by Roland Garros to take care of the honors on the anniversary of his 1976 triumph.
Despite Sinner鈥檚 stunning loss in the second round, since Flavio Cobolli will face compatriot Matteo Arnaldi in the semifinals on Friday.
Cobolli comes from the same tennis club in Rome as Panatta did. Panatta鈥檚 father was the caretaker at the Tennis Club Parioli.
Several years ago, Cobolli and his father and coach, Stefano, paid Panatta a visit at the club in Treviso, northern Italy, that Panatta created after his playing career.
鈥淚 told them he was going to be a great player,鈥� Panatta said. 鈥淥f course, I didn鈥檛 realize it would be so soon.鈥�
While Sinner came close last year when he had three match points in in the final, no Italian man has raised the singles trophy in Paris since Panatta.
Panatta recently looked back on the 1976 tournament in an interview with The Associated Press.
Beating Borg
Panatta was the only man to beat Bjorn Borg twice at the French Open, in the fourth round in 1973 and in the quarterfinals in 1976. The only other time they met in Paris was in 1975 when Borg won in the semifinals and went on to claim the second of his six Roland Garros titles.
鈥淚 liked playing these clay-court specialists like Borg and (Guillermo) Vilas,鈥� said Panatta, who beat Vilas in the Italian Open final just before winning the French Open. 鈥淚 had a very varied game and attacked a lot and hit a lot of drop shots. I didn鈥檛 play like them.
鈥淚f two players play the same way, the stronger player always wins. I played with a different style and that probably bothered them.鈥�
Sneaker emergency
Panatta beat two more clay-court specialists, Americans Eddie Dibbs and Harold Solomon, in the semifinals and final, respectively.
The final was a rematch of a controversial quarterfinal in Rome between Panatta and Solomon in which Solomon walked away while serving for the match after getting infuriated over a perceived missed call.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the one who made it an incident,” Panatta said. 鈥淲hen you walk away, you鈥檙e responsible.鈥�
Needless to say, both players were motivated for the rematch in the Paris final.
But Panatta had a problem when he realized that his doubles partner, Paolo Bertolucci, had mistakenly taken his tennis sneakers home with him.
鈥�(Bertolucci) had to fly back from Rome the morning of the final with my sneakers,鈥� Panatta said.
Fortunately, the sneakers arrived in time and Panatta again beat Solomon 鈥� this time by winning a fourth-set tiebreaker.
$30,000 winner’s check
Panatta said he received $30,000 for his French Open title 鈥� about what players who lose in the first round of qualifying earn now.
He鈥檚 having a hard time wrapping his head around the current players鈥� .
鈥淚 don鈥檛 really know the reasons behind it,鈥� Panatta said. 鈥淏ut it makes me laugh.鈥�
Panatta recalls how players boycotted Wimbledon in 1973 after was suspended.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 do it for money,” Panatta said. 鈥淲e did it because of Pili膰.鈥�
Sinner’s perfection
While Panatta pines for the old days when there were more players like him who employed serve-and-volley tactics, he still appreciates players like Sinner who push the limits of baseline tennis.
鈥淲hen there鈥檚 excellence, it鈥檚 never boring,鈥� Panatta said. 鈥淲hen someone performs near the limit of perfection, it鈥檚 inspiring.鈥�
Sinner鈥檚 sense of humor
Panatta was also invited to participate in the trophy ceremony in Rome last month when .
During the ceremony, Sinner jokingly told the 75-year-old Panatta that obviously he鈥檚 too young to have seen him play and that 鈥渕y parents probably hadn鈥檛 even gotten together yet鈥� back then.
Panatta was amused by Sinner鈥檚 comment and said it showed that Sinner 鈥渉as got a sense of humor.鈥�
Like Panatta, who drove rally cars and speed boats after he retired from tennis, Sinner has a taste for speed and likes to race go-karts and watch Formula 1.
鈥淚 hope he races when he stops playing, too,鈥� Panatta said.
Davis Cup
Panatta crowned his extraordinary 1976 season by leading Italy to the Davis Cup title with a win over Chile in Santiago that was played amid the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
鈥淭hat was when the Davis Cup was the real Davis Cup,鈥� Panatta said. 鈥淚t was worth just as much as a Grand Slam.鈥�
So how does he distinguish his Italian Open, French Open and Davis Cup titles?
鈥淩ome was the most sentimental because the Foro Italico was where I started to play tennis. Roland Garros was the most important one because it was a Grand Slam. And the Davis Cup was a team event and we had a team of players who knew each other since they were little kids,鈥� Panatta said. 鈥淭hey were three entirely different emotions.鈥�
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