The Adriano Panatta Racquet Club’s first birthday party was an escalation of emotions. A party for everyone, from regulars to sports fans, who were able to attend a chat between two tennis legends: Adriano Panatta and Paolo Bertolucci, loyal doubles mates and winners of the only Davis Cup in 1976 together with Barazzutti and Zugarelli , were cleverly moderated by Sky journalist Stefano Meloccaro.
It was the perfect opportunity to retrace the career and life of two tennis players who have marked an entire generation and who, curiously, moved to Veneto for love a few years ago. Panatta is now Treviso by adoption, while Bertolucci lives in Verona. And it was exciting to see them again in a relaxed environment, by the pool, very elegant and completely at ease in front of over 200 people, with the presence of the mayor of Treviso, Mario Conte. The carousel of memories takes them to the beginning of their partnership: “It was a friendly Italy-Poland, we played in Gaeta and we were on two equal – recalls Bertolucci – I had just finished playing in singles, and our coach Berardinelli came from me and said to me: “You play the decisive double with Adriano”. It began like this ».
Two iconic players, one in love with the other’s backhand: «Paolo’s backhand was famous all over the world. He could have been in the top ten in the world, if Barazzutti got there… »” ì Bertolucci’s reply is even more honeyed: «Adriano had a beautiful backhand to see. I think I’ve only seen Federer with a similar touch ».
The partnership was also born for technical and practical reasons: «Paolo played both singles and doubles, but at a certain point he was out of breath for both. And so he specialized in the double. After all, he liked to eat – he was nicknamed Pasta Kid, ed – I love him. He’s the brother I never had. In Formia we stayed in the room together, I paid the rent and he washed the dishes ». Bertolucci’s love for food gave rise to unforgettable gags: «Paolo was greedy, but he was thin. His feet were fast, he moved well and if he went to the pastry shop he ate the shop assistant as well. ” The Tuscan’s response was not long in coming: «In reality it happened only once. We were in Reggio Calabria, I was on a strict diet and one evening I went out after dinner to eat something in a local pastry shop. But I wasn’t even able to fully enjoy it, because someone (laughs, ed) the next day went to the coach to ask to weigh it… ».
At that point Panatta plays one of his winning volleys: “Now I’ll tell you this: Paolo loved having breakfast with focaccia and mortadella dipped in coffee with milk”. Laughter, open applause. The conversation is always light, and we start talking about the great champions of the past: Nastase, Borg, McEnroe. Gone times, legendary challenges, with a special mention for Jimmy Connors: «He was really unpleasant. How is it that they say around here? Mona »The temperatures drop, the sun slowly sets, but the two legends continue to enchant with their stories. There was Sky, there were cameras. Who knows if another documentary will come out: after “Una Squadra”, there are still many adventures to tell.