Filippo, who works for the Internazionali organization, speaks: “Lunch in Paris with Manolo Santana, the pranks with Panatta, Aunt Lea’s affection. Sinner’s silence? I’d rather not answer”

“Talking about my father is difficult, yet at the same time easy.” This is how Filippo Pietrangeli begins, in a phone call that is painful yet liberating. In times of mourning, opening the book of memories can divert attention from the sense of loss and allow, albeit fleetingly, a journey through time.

Filippo, what was Nicola Pietrangeli like as a dad?

“It might sound strange, but he was a father like any other. He loved us, raised us, and never let us want for anything. Of course, he was a demanding dad, in the best sense of the word. He made us live in a world totally different from that of any other child. When he was traveling the world, first as a player and then as Davis Cup captain, he was always away. Then he settled in Rome, and we began to share his passions.“

Tennis?

”Actually, we kids all played different sports. I rode horses, Marco played American football, and Giorgio surfed.“

The classic rebellion against your parents’ wishes?

”Not at all, he always let us choose for ourselves. He never pushed us to play tennis, partly because the last name was a heavy burden…”

What passions did you share, then?

“I played with him on the Canottieri Roma soccer team. I was a fullback, he was in midfield, even though he started out as a center forward. We competed in the Caravella, the historic tournament between clubs, and, thanks to our friendship with Prince Albert, we also organized matches against the Principality of Monaco’s team.”

Any squabbles on the field?

“No, no, but once we organized an episode of *Scherzi a parte*. My brother Marco and I would pretend to bump into each other and fall to the ground; the referee would call non-existent fouls, and Dad would get angry.”

What memories do you have of Nicola Pietrangeli as a player?

“When he won Roland Garros and the Internazionali, I wasn’t even born yet (Filippo was born in 1963, ed.). I watched the final of the Italian Open on TV with Adriano Panatta.”

Bologna, September 27, 1970: that was a sort of passing of the torch.

“Adriano was a frequent visitor to our home. His relationship with my father was immediately marked by constant banter, right from the first day they met. And it stayed that way until the end. They both enjoyed friendly bickering: it was a game.”

How did you experience the events surrounding the 1976 Davis Cup final? The protests in Italy, the political pressure not to play in Chile during Pinochet’s dictatorship, and your father’s determination to take the team there anyway?

“I was a teenager: it was a pretty intense time for our family; we could feel that the atmosphere was far from relaxed. My brothers and I would always notice a police or Carabinieri patrol car parked outside our house, 24 hours a day. A few years later, my father spoke of threats he had received during those weeks.“

Which matches do you remember most fondly?

”We children lived and breathed tennis: we were just part of the scenery in that world. Once I attended a lunch in Paris with my father and Manolo Santana—the player who deprived him of his third consecutive title at Roland Garros but who later became a dear friend of his. I met another great rival, Rod Laver, in Rome, when Dad presented him with the Golden Racket. And then McEnroe, Federer, Djokovic, Nadal….”

And Lea Pericoli?

“She was like an aunt: Aunt Lea. She loved him dearly; her relationship with my father was special. When she died, I cried a lot.”

You ended up making tennis your profession.

“I joined the organization of the Internazionali in 1999. I remember a wonderful trip with my dad and my son to San Diego to watch the 2010 Fed Cup final. In recent years, we’ve been very close: because of his health issues, I’d accompany him on his trips. I’ve had the privilege of being by his side thanks to my job, and for that I thank the FITP.”

You were also in Malaga.

“Yes, two years ago we won the Davis Cup again after 47 years, and he was overjoyed to be able to lift the trophy alongside the boys. He was proud of them.”

A few months ago, Giorgio’s untimely death.

“A tragedy. In a year and a half, I’ve lost my mother, my brother, and my father.“

These days, the tennis world is paying public tribute to an icon of the sport. No social media posts from Jannik Sinner, the idol of our times. Are you upset?

”I’d rather not answer.”