Paolo Bertolucci he made history by being considered one of the best doubles players in Italian tennis. As a singles player Bertolucci boasts 4 successes on the ATP circuit, but also 5 finals, a semi-final in 1973 at the Internazionali d’Italia (defeated in the 5th set by Ilie Nastase) and a quarter-final at Roland Garros also in ’73. Adriano Panatta’s inseparable doubles partner, Bertolucci participated in 5 Davis Cup finals, four as a player and one as captain. After abandoning competitive activity at the beginning of the 1980s, he was responsible for the Federal Technical Center of Riano. In 1997, after the resignation of Adriano Panatta as Davis Cup captain, Bertolucci led the Italian team in the semi-final in Norkoping (lost 4-1 against Sweden), and the following year in the final in Milan, again lost against the team Scandinavian. His golden year was 1973, during which despite not winning any titles he managed, thanks to several good placings, to reach his best ranking at position no. 12
He and Adriano Panatta as young people were certainly not remembered for their sobriety. On the contrary, they were labeled as the bad boys of Italian tennis, always ready to party, go to social parties and date many women. The pranks that the Italian duo played on a certain Bjorn Borg are famous. In an interview with Repubblica, Bertolucci said: “How much did we do to the number one in the world. One evening we left it on the highway while we were going from Germany to Austria for a tournament. I agreed with Adriano to stage a fake argument: “Adrià, what a drag, this Swede never speaks, let’s leave him here. And he, very ready: “Yes, that’s enough, let him down” And Bjorn got out! We picked him up a quarter of an hour later while he, disconsolate, was walking towards I don’t know where”.
Paolo Bertolucci he is currently a television commentator for Sky Sport. In 2015 he published his biography for the publisher Ultra Sport, “Pasta kid”, a nickname given to him by the famous American journalist Bud Collins for his passion for good food and his not exactly athletic physique. The relationship between Paolo Bertolucci and Adriano Panatta is also marked by bitter discussions: “Panatta? It saves him that she is a good person and with someone like that you can’t stay angry. But we argued a lot of times, on and off the pitch. We couldn’t have been more different: he comes from a socialist family, I’m a liberal, he played on the left, I played on the right, he never gives up, I’m a calm guy. Once at the Royal Albert Hall in London, when we introduced ourselves, they said that he was one of the most handsome men in Europe, and I was the shorter. But in the couple I was the director who created and prepared the dish, he was the handsome boy who gave the forelock twist. Before hitting the ball he moved his hair with his hand and they shouted: A-dri-a-no! But I had prepared the blow.” he explained ironically.
