Pat Hughes remains one of Great Britain’s greatest ever doubles players.
Hughes, who won multiple major doubles titles alongside British tennis legend Fred Perry, was a right-handed player who played with a one-handed backhand.
The Briton, born in 1902, won three Grand Slam doubles titles and helped Great Britain win the Davis Cup title on four occasions.
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Hughes was also an excellent singles player, and in 1931, he became the first Briton to win the Italian Open.
Pat Hughes’ historic Italian Open campaign
Bill Tilden, an American tennis legend, won the first Italian Open in 1930, defeating Italian Uberto de Morpurgo 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 in the final.
One year after the tournament’s inaugural event, Britain’s first-ever Italian Open champion was crowned.
Pat Hughes [pictured below – middle right] emerged victorious from the event after defeating France’s Henri Cochet 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in the championships showpiece.
In 1932, Hughes reached his second consecutive final in Milan, but lost to Frenchman Andre Merlin in four sets, 6–1, 5–7, 6–0, 8–6.
Following Hughes’ appearance in the 1932 final, no British player reached the Italian Open final for 75 years.
Andy Murray ended the drought in 2016 after defeating lucky loser Lucas Pouille in the semi-finals.
Murray became only the second British Italian Open champion after beating Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3 in Rome.
Who are the British hopes at this year’s Italian Open?
On the men’s side, Cameron Norrie is Great Britain’s greatest hope.
The wily Brit, ranked 19th on the ATP Tour, is far from an Italian Open contender. However, Norrie is more than capable of winning Masters 1000 events, as demonstrated by his triumph at the 2021 Indian Wells Open.
Jack Draper, the former world number four, will not compete in Rome after suffering a knee injury at the Barcelona Open.
On the women’s side, Emma Raducanu will hope to end her five-year wait for a WTA title when she competes at the event this year.
Raducanu, the 27th seed, has received a bye and will play Solana Sierra or a qualifier in the second round.
Katie Boulter, the British number three, is also in the Italian Open draw. She will compete against Eva Lys in the first round.
Should Boulter advance past Lys, she will play Naomi Osaka in the second round.