Hundreds of celebrities and anonymous faces parade before the burning chapel of the legendary Spanish tennis player, installed in the Caja Mágica
The talent and success of Manolo Santana made him a legend of Spanish sport, a pioneer who set the path to success in a dark time for Spain, and hundreds of known and anonymous faces have wanted to pay him their last goodbye. He died last Saturday at the age of 83 in Marbella, where he had fixed his residence, it was there that the first burning chapel of the athlete was installed, whose remains were transferred late on Sunday to the tennis temple in Madrid.
Santana was the first great figure in Spanish tennis to win a great tournament. He won four Grand Slam: two Roland Garros, in 1961 and 1964; a Wimbledon, in 1965; and a United States Open in 1966, the same year that it became number one in the world ranking.
After his retirement, he remained very attached to the world of sports and to the Marbella city, where in 1983 he took over the Puente Romano Tennis Club, which was renamed with his name, and from 1997 he directed the Manolo Santana Racquets Club.
In 2000, the Higher Sports Council awarded him the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit for his professional career.
The central court of the Caja Mágica, which bears the name of the historic athlete who left Spanish sport an orphan, as well as myths such as Ángel Nieto, Seve Ballesteros or the skiers Paquito and Blanca Fernández Ochoa, was the place that Santana himself chose for his fired. Here, therefore, he received the latter, well-deserved and affectionate tribute from colleagues, friends, politicians, many celebrities but, above all, those unknown fans who were moved by seeing him hit with the racket and now mourn his death.
The popular journalist José María García, tennis player Feliciano López and his wife Sandra Gago were among the first to arrive at the venue where Santana’s coffin, covered with the flag of Spain and later also that of Real Madrid, the club of his loves and with whose shield on his shirt he conquered Wimbledon, he was surrounded by several wreaths of flowers. Among all of them, one of Rafa Nadal and his family stood out, grateful for all that Santana meant for Spanish tennis, in those times of the orphan dictatorship of figures.
The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, the vice mayor of the capital, Begoña Villacís, and the president of the white club, Florentino Pérez, also paraded before the burning chapel. Madrid politicians glossed over the figure of the disappeared myth and placed special emphasis on what Santana represented for Spain and for Madrid, but highlighted the statements of former tennis player Álex Corretja, with an easy verb and a sad gesture, very affected by the loss of a reference and a friend despite being 36 years apart.
“He was born with class and left with class”
«Manolo transmitted a lot of joy to us tennis players. He was born with class and has gone with class. For us it has been very important because it taught us and helped us grow. We were very happy, “said the Catalan, winner of a Davis Cup. «I will remember him a lot. I made my Davis Cup debut with him and he treated me very well. He was someone very important, “he stressed.
Corretja stressed that the most important thing about Santana “is that everyone knew him, whether you were a tennis player or not.” “That means that you go far beyond what is just sport.” The former tennis player also confessed that Manolo Santana “took away the iron from the matter when he saw you worried.” “It made you see that playing was not all that was important, but being happy and transmitting it to people. He would ask us for that on the track. He exuded humility. He came from very low and had to fight a lot to get where he got, “said Corretja.
In short, the world of sport tries to overcome the irreparable loss of this star who won four Grand Slam titles, those of Roland Garros in 1961 and 1964, the historic Wimbledon in 1966 and the US Open a year earlier, and that he has linked his whole life to tennis. After his retirement, he was coach, captain of the Davis Cup in two stages and coach.
Along with former Romanian tennis player and tycoon Ion Tiriac, Santana was also a key figure in getting Madrid to host an important event on the ATP and WTA circuit, the Mutua Madrid Open, which has been held since 2002 for 19 years. Santana himself was director of the tournament since 2002 and is currently honorary president.
An unequivocal sample of the importance of Santana was the message of condolences sent by the Royal House after learning of his death. A simple “thank you, Manolo”, with which Zarzuela tried to reflect the close relationship they had with the tennis player, a good friend above all of King Juan Carlos. «There are people who become legend and who make a country great. Manolo Santana has been and will always be one of them ». His widow, Claudia Rodríguez, confirmed to the media that Manolo Santana’s ashes will return to Marbella, as it was a wish of her husband.
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