30 Stories, 30 Days to Paris 2024: Tennis in Mexico 1968, a fascinating exhibition at the halfway point

The five gold medals won by the United States remained the last image of tennis at the Olympic Games, in Paris in 1924. It was still a few years before they officially returned to the sporting event, which eventually happened in Seoul in 1988. But first, an oasis in Mexico 1968. A display of a total of 46 players from 15 countries, in singles and doubles, in matches spread over two events in Mexico City and Guadalajara, both of which were met with great enthusiasm by the audience and participants.

Why did tennis turn upside down in Mexico? At a time when the sport was divided between amateurs and professionals, the organizers decided a few years ago, when they chose it as the host in 1963, that tennis would be one of the exhibition’s disciplines. The reason, nothing more, nothing less, was that at that time they had Rafael Osuna, the world’s No. 1. The only Mexican to have won a Grand Slam singles title (the ’63 US Open) he quickly secured his presence in case the competition took place. And let’s get down to business, with the situation of organizing not just one event, but two!

One was to be called “The Show” and was to be shown in Mexico City, and the other was to be called “The Demo” and was to be shown in Guadalajara.

Osuna, it should be noted, did more than just show up in Mexico City, winning gold in both singles and doubles. Today, she is one of the most remembered postcards of her country when talking about the Olympic Games. However, when the world talks about tennis in Mexico 1968, the other final immediately comes to mind, the “exhibition” event in Guadalajara, between two Spanish players in the decisive match.

In a heavyweight draw with winners and finalists of the four Grand Slams such as the Italian Nicola Pietrangeli, the Frenchman Pierre Darmon, the Spaniard Joan Gisbert and the Russian Alex Metreveli, the Spaniard Manuel Santana eliminated Osuna himself – who also participated in this competition – in the semi-finals. He made his way to the golden match on the clay courts of Guadalajara against his compatriot Manuel Orantes, a 19-year-old who had just started taking his first steps on the ring and who had signed his first contract less than a month earlier after defeating his “idol” Santana, 11 years his senior, in the final of the Madrid tournament.

But in Guadalajara, Santana’s experience and hierarchy were more important, as he entered the competition with, for example, four Grand Slam titles (Roland Garros 1961 and 1964; US Open 1965; and Wimbledon 1966) under his belt. In any case, he had to fight a great battle against Orantes. There were five sets of skills, ability and tense moments. And also the reaction, because the match in Marbella, before the celebration, was 0-1 and 1-2 in sets. The final score was 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The Olympic mail contains a pearl: Santana received, in addition to the gold medal for the demonstration, a ridiculously large check for his title. As a joke, he framed it and hung it in his home for all who visited him to see. Aware of the situation, a few years later, the Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee from 1980 to 2001, also tried to make him forget this federal flaw by giving him a gold watch for what he had done in 1968.