Italian Job
Adriano Panatta (Italy) in 1976
Probably Italy's second-best player ever after someone named Nicola Pietrangeli, but not as well-known outside his country.
He did not achieve much in the initial phase of his career, but it was in 1976 that he peaked as a player. First came a big win at the Italian Open; a few weeks later, the biggest moment of his career as a professional. He beat American Harold Solomon 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 to win the French Open.
The triumph was all the more special because he had had to save a match-point against Pavel Hutka of the erstwhile Czechoslovakia in the opening round. He went on to help Italy win the Davis Cup that year and finished a career-high No 4 in the rankings.
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He played for seven more years, and won three more titles, but could never win a major again.
For the record, Panatta is, and will always be, the only man to beat the legendary Swede Bjorn Borg at Roland Garros. He first beat the six-time winner in the fourth round in 1973, and then in the quarter-finals in1976, en route to his triumph, both times in four sets.
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