13 Facts About Manuel Santana

Manuel Santana Martinez, known as Manolo Santana, was a Spanish tennis player.

Manuel Santana was ranked as amateur world No 1 in 1965 by Ned Potter and in 1966 by Lance Tingay and Sport In The USSR.

Manuel Santana 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.

Manuel Santana took up tennis by chance after bringing a meal to his brother, who worked in a tennis club in Madrid.

In 1965, Manuel Santana led Spain to unexpected victory over the US in the Davis Cup, and he became a national hero.

Manuel Santana managed to attain the world number 1 ranking in 1965.

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

At the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Manuel Santana won the gold medal in singles, but tennis was only a demonstration sport at that time.

Manuel Santana later was captain of the Spanish Davis Cup team twice, once in the 1980s and again for four and a half years in the mid-1990s, until he was dismissed in 1999.

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

Manuel Santana was born in 1938, the son of a father imprisoned for his political beliefs during the early years of the Franco dictatorship.

Manuel Santana died on 11 December 2021, at the age of 83.