Former World No.4 and 1976 Adriano Panatta has been chosen to hand the French Open trophy to the 2016 winner next June in Paris. 40 years after becoming the last Italian man to win a major, Panatta will present the ”Coupe the Mousquetaires” to the winner of Roland Garros for the first time.
Panatta has been the highest ranked Italian player in the Open Era and the only man capable of beating Bjorn Borg at the French Open in two occasions. The first time Panatta beat Borg at Roland Garros was in 1973 in the fourth round. The second time was in 1976, when the Italian won in the quarters and then went on to win the title in Paris beating Solomon in the last act.