Can you imagine someone climbing to the top of the Madonnina, slipping, and from spire to spire, landing right on the church steps? Without a scratch, a bump, just a lot of fear and cold sweat? Do you say it’s impossible?

Gianni Clerici, Il Giorno, 25/05/1976

Rome, May 25, first round: Adriano Panatta – Kim Warwick 3-6; 6-4; 7-6

The year is 1976, and the 33rd edition of the Italian Open is underway on the clay courts of the Foro Italico. In the first round, the hometown favorite Adriano Panatta faces the Australian Kim Warwick in a match that, on paper, seems well within the Italian’s reach. But as often happens in sports, never take a result for granted. Indeed, the Aussie player wastes no time, dominating the first set with a clear 6-3. Here is Clerici’s colorful description:

Warwick, until then known for a successful sporting partnership with Goolagong and a quarrel with referee Brunetti that led to a one-year suspension, played such inspired tennis that he surprised even his Australian friends. His freckled face, eyes twinkling beneath his reddish-brown long hair, and strong legs sturdy enough to withstand accidental racket hits, Warwick rallied longer and faster than Adriano, never wasting a ball and never missing a tactical move. Throughout the first set, his great tennis overwhelmed the Roman fans, who even went as far as applauding him.

The second set, instead, goes smoothly for Adriano, who, supported by the crowd and with an improved serve, takes it 6-4, a promising sign. However, the outcome of the match is far from decided: the Australian returns to form and even leads 5-1 in the third and final set. From here on unfolds a legendary sequence of match points saved by Warwick, aided by a very alert and resourceful Panatta. A total of 11 match points wasted within a single set—perhaps a record. Adriano, by saving the last two match points in the decisive tie-break, wins what will go down in history as one of the craziest matches ever played. The answer to the initial question—about the miraculous fall from the top of the Cathedral unharmed—is given by Clerici himself, portraying the extraordinariness of the event memorably:

Yet Panatta is here, intact, speaking calmly, only a bit out of breath, and even trying to offer a logical explanation for what happened. […] I don’t believe Adriano is physically able, after such an effort, to immediately embark on a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of the Divine Love. However, he should commission a small votive offering and hang it in the stands, as a perpetual reminder of this event. In one corner of the ex-voto, alongside the miraculously saved, there should also be Kim Warwick, the Australian, who did everything to reach his overwhelming lead—and was able to use it.

Absolutely phenomenal Adriano’s declaration at the end of the match — “I never thought about losing!”