Manuel “Manolo” Santana, the first man from Spain to win a Grand Slam singles title, has died aged 83. The Madrid Open announced the death of its honorary president on Saturday. No cause of death was given.
Santana won four major singles championships: the French Open in 1961 and 1964, the U.S. Open in 1965 and Wimbledon in 1966, the year that he was ranked No. 1 in the world.
He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1984.
Rafael Nadal joined in the flood of condolences on social media, writing in Spanish that “we will all miss you Manolo.”
“You will always be one of a kind and special,” Nadal wrote. “As I have said many times in the past: a thousand thanks for what you did for our country and for opening the way for others. You were always my role model, a friend and someone who was close to all of us.”
King Felipe and the Spain prime minister both echoed the sentiments of Nadal, calling Santana a “legend.”
“There are people who become legends and make a country great. Manolo Santana was and will always be one of them,” Spanish King Felipe VI wrote on Twitter.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said: “He won Roland Garros, the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, a total of 72 tournaments and an Olympic gold to make him a tennis legend and one of the best athletes our country has seen.”
