Manuel Santana

Manuel Santana Martínez (10 May 1938 – 11 December 2021), also known as Manolo Santana, was a Spanish tennis player. He was ranked as amateur world No. 1 in 1965 by Ned Potter and in 1966 by Lance Tingay and Sport In The USSR.

He won the US Open in 1965 and, before winning Wimbledon the following year, he was quoted as saying "grass is just for cows", favouring artificial surfaces.

Career Santana was born in Madrid, and began his career as a ball boy and "picked up" the game. Santana took up tennis by chance after bringing a meal to his brother, who worked in a tennis club in Madrid. "I saw men in pants playing tennis. I was immediately charmed. I started as a ball boy, and then I started playing. In the end, I am an example of humility in an elitist world," he told newspaper El Español.

In 1965, Santana led Spain to unexpected victory over the U.S. in the Davis Cup, and he became a national hero. Despite his previous Grand Slam successes in the French Championships (1961, 1964) and the U.S. Championships (1965), Santana's win at the 1966 Wimbledon lawn tennis championships was a surprise, where he defeated the sixth seed Dennis Ralston in three straight sets. He also managed to attain the world number 1 ranking in 1965. His last big tournament win was in 1970 by winning Barcelona where he defeated Rod Laver. He also captured the doubles title in Barcelona that year when he teamed with Lew Hoad to defeat Laver/Andrés Gimeno.

Santana was named to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1984.

At the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Santana won the gold medal in singles, but tennis was only a demonstration sport at that time. It became a medal sport in 1988 (after another demonstration event in 1984).

Santana managed the Manolo Santana Racquets Club, a tennis club in Marbella, Spain and the Sport Center Manolo Santana, in Madrid.

Santana appeared at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships in London in the Royal Box to watch the men's final, which was between his fellow countryman Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

In 2020, Santana was awarded the ITF Philippe Chatrier Award for his contribution to tennis, both on and off the court.

Grand Slam performance timeline

Grand Slam finals Singles (4 titles)

Source:

Doubles (1 title)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1963 French Championships Clay Roy Emerson Gordon Forbes Abe Segal 6–2, 6–4, 6–4 Source: Grass Roy Emerson 5-7 9-7 6-3 6-3 53 1967 Canadian Championships Montreal ? Roy Emerson 6-1 10-8 6-4 54 1967 Mediterranean Games Tunis Clay Juan Gisbert 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-3 55 1967 Colonnial Tennis Classic Fort Worth ? ? ? 56 1968 U.S. Pro Indoor Philadelphia Wood (i) Jan Leschly 8-6 6-3 57 1968 Tampa Dixie International Invitation Tampa Clay István Gulyás 6-4 7-5 6-4 58 1968 Puerta de Hierro International Madrid Clay Herb Fitzgibbon 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-4

59 1968 West Berlin Championships Berlin Clay Tom Okker 6-8 6-4 6-1 6-2 60 1968 Scandinavian Open Helsinki Clay Toomas Leius 6-1 6-1 6-4

61 1968 Olympic Games Mexico Guadalajara Clay Manuel Orantes 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 62 1968 Spanish National Championships Barcelona Clay Manuel Orantes 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-2 63 1969 Copa Faulcombridge Valencia ? Robert Maud 6-2 2-6 6-4 64 1969 Barcelona De La Salud Tournament Barcelona Clay Manuel Orantes 7-5 6-2 6-2 65 1969 Puerta de Hierro Open Madrid Clay Arthur Ashe 9-11 6-4 8-6 6-1 66 1969 Swedish Open Båstad Clay Ion Țiriac 8-6 6-4 6-1 67 1969 Portuguese Championships Lisbon Clay François Jauffret 6-1 6-0 6-2 68 1969 Austrian Open Kitzbühel Clay Manuel Orantes 6-4 6-2 6-3 69 1969 Trofeo Melia, Madrid International Madrid Clay Juan Gisbert 6-1 6-3 8-6 70 1969 Manly Seaside Championships Sydney Clay Ray Keldie 6-2 8-6 71 1970 Copa Faulcombridge Valencia Clay Manuel Orantes 7-5 1-6 4-6 6-3 6-3 72 1970 International Championships of Egypt Cairo Clay Alex Metreveli 7-5 6-2 6-4 73 1970 Puerta de Hierro Open Madrid Clay Lew Hoad 6-3 8-10 6-3 6-0 74 1970 Andalusia Championships Seville Clay Gene Scott 6-1 2-6 8-6 6-4 75 1970 Spanish Open Barcelona Clay Rod Laver 6-4 6-3 6-4 76 1971 Trofeo Conde de Godó Barcelona Clay Bob Lutz 6-4 6-3 6-4 77 1971 Aragon Championships Zaragoza Clay Harald Elschenbroich 6-4 6-4 8-6 78 1972 Grand Prix German Open Hamburg Clay Adriano Panatta 6-3 9-8 6-0 79 1975 Grand Prix German Open Hamburg Clay Jan Kodeš 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 80 1976 Trofeo Gillette Madrid Clay Eddie Dibbs 7-6, 6-2, 6-1

Personal life Santana was born in 1938, the son of a father imprisoned for his political beliefs during the early years of the Franco dictatorship. Santana married María Fernanda González-Dopeso in 1963; they had three children (Manuel, Beatriz and Borja). Their marriage ended in 1980. He also had a daughter outside his marriage, Barbara. In 1983, he married reporter Mila Ximénez, with whom he had a daughter, Alba. The divorce, in 1986, was unamicable. He also married (1990) and divorced (2008) Otti Glanzelius.

Death Santana died on 11 December 2021, at the age of 83. The Madrid Open announced his death but not the cause.

Rafael Nadal reacted to his death by posting on Twitter, "the only other Spanish man to win Wimbledon. We will miss you. Thank you a thousand times for what you have done for our country and for having opened the way for so many people. You have always been a point of reference, a friend and a person very close to everyone." Spanish King Felipe VI also reacted by posting on Twitter, "there are people who become legends and make a country great. Manolo Santana was and will always be one of them." Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez lamented the loss of a "legend". He tweeted, "my condolences to Manolo Santana's family, his loved ones and the tennis world."