The most illustrious of his heirs, Rafael Nadal, paid tribute to him upon the announcement of the death by the organizers of the Masters 1000 in Madrid, of which Santana was the honorary president.

"Thank you a thousand times for what you have done (...). You will be unique and special forever (...) We will never forget you", reacted on Twitter the Mallorcan.

Born in Madrid in 1938, Manuel, or "Manolo" his diminutive, Santana marked the history of his sport by first winning Roland-Garros twice (1961, 1964), then the US Open (1965) and finally Wimbledon (1966), where no other Spaniard will win until Nadal (2008, 2010).

"I was an intruder among the Anglo-Saxons", recalled in an interview with the daily El Mundo in 2016 Santana, who suffered from Parkinson's disease.

Son of a Republican imprisoned at the start of the Franco dictatorship (1939-1975), Santana took up tennis by chance, bringing a meal to his brother who worked in a club in Madrid.

"I saw men in pants playing tennis. I was immediately charmed. I started out as a ball catcher and then I started playing. I am an example of humility in an elitist world." Santana explained in an interview with the online newspaper El Español.

"A pioneer"

Little by little, the Madrilenian is becoming one of the world's best clay court specialists.

The victory of Spain against the United States, hegemonic power at that time, in a Davis Cup meeting in 1965 in Barcelona is one of the strongest moments of his career.

Manolo Santana with with Rafael Nadal on the sidelines of the Barcelona tournament, April 21, 2009 Josep LAGO AFP / Archives

This success, despite the subsequent defeat in the final against Australia, the other giant of the time, convinces Santana that it is possible to beat the Anglo-Saxons and that it is worth preparing specifically for the game on grass.

His victory, also on grass at the US Open in 1965 validates this choice and on July 1, 1966 Santana obtains the consecration on the Wimbledon Central by beating the American Dennis Ralston (6-4, 11-9, 6-4) finally.

Still an amateur, at least theoretically, Santana also took advantage of the context, at a time when most of the best went professional in a parallel circuit once their reputation had been made.

This was the case for Australians Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall.

In 1970, two years after the reunification of amateurs and professionals in what will now be called the Open era, the Madrilenian retired, despite a brief return to the courts to compete in the Davis Cup in 1973.

Four times married and three times divorced, he then became captain of the Spanish Davis Cup team twice (1980-1985 then 1995-1999).

Then he took charge of the Masters 1000 in Madrid when it was created in 2002 until 2018.

These two functions have allowed him to pass on his experience to a new generation of Spanish players.

Former Spanish tennis champion Manolo Santana in the arches of Arthur Ashe center court at the US Open on September 11, 2015 Maddie MEYER, Maddie MEYER Getty / AFP / Archives

"He was a pioneer and it is always more difficult for people who do things for the first time", summarized in 2018 Rafael Nadal.

"Someone was needed to lead the way and show that it was possible. Manolo was a pioneer for our country, a benchmark of Spanish sport in general."

© 2021 AFP