ATP Italian Open 1979 Draw & Results

Completed

Vitas Gerulaitis won the 1979 Italian Open, defeating Guillermo Vilas 6-7 7-6 6-7 6-4 6-2 in the final. The ATP 500 event was played May 21–28 on clay courts in Rome, Italy.

The Italian Open, officially the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, is the combined ATP and WTA event staged at Rome's Foro Italico.

Full tournament history →
Champion
Vitas Gerulaitis
def. Guillermo Vilas , 6-7 7-6 6-7 6-4 6-2
Dates
May 21 — May 28
Location
Rome, Italy
Category
ATP 500
Surface
Clay
Prize money
—

Arrows show an edition's recorded category and documented modern equivalent; unresolved editions keep their recorded category. Mapping details.

Results

Match type

63 recorded singles results

Italian Open 1979 match log
WinnerScoreLoserH2HMatch DataDateRound
F (1)
Vitas Gerulaitis #4CH 6-7 7-6 6-7 6-4 6-2 Guillermo Vilas #5 H2H Match data May 28, 1979* F
SF (2)
Guillermo Vilas #4 6-3 3-0 (ret.) Gene Mayer #27 H2H Match data May 27, 1979* SF
Vitas Gerulaitis #5CH 0-6 6-1 7-5 6-3 Eddie Dibbs #8 H2H Match data May 27, 1979* SF
QF (4)
Gene Mayer #27 7-6 6-3 Terry Moor #69 H2H Match data May 27, 1979* QF
Vitas Gerulaitis #5CH 6-4 6-2 Gianni Ocleppo H2H Match data May 27, 1979* QF
Guillermo Vilas #4 6-1 6-7 7-5 Adriano Panatta #18CH H2H Match data May 27, 1979* QF
Eddie Dibbs #8 2-6 6-3 7-5 Harold Solomon #7 H2H Match data May 27, 1979* QF
R16 (8)
Adriano Panatta #18CH 6-4 7-6 Jose Higueras #9 H2H Match data May 26, 1979* R16
Guillermo Vilas #4 6-3 6-4 Paolo Bertolucci #53 H2H Match data May 26, 1979* R16
Gianni Ocleppo 6-4 3-6 7-5 Peter Feigl #40 H2H Match data May 26, 1979* R16
Gene Mayer #27 7-5 6-2 Ivan Lendl #48 H2H Match data May 26, 1979* R16
Vitas Gerulaitis #5CH 6-7 6-2 6-3 John Alexander #15 H2H Match data May 26, 1979* R16
Harold Solomon #7 6-4 6-4 Dick Stockton #22 H2H Match data May 26, 1979* R16
Terry Moor #69 7-5 6-4 Dominique Bedel H2H Match data May 26, 1979* R16
Eddie Dibbs #8 7-5 6-4 Corrado Barazzutti #17 H2H Match data May 26, 1979* R16
R32 (16)
Dick Stockton #22 6-3 6-2 Alvaro Fillol H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32
Vitas Gerulaitis #5CH 6-2 3-0 (ret.) Tim Wilkison #49 H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32
Gene Mayer #27 6-4 6-2 Tim Gullikson — Match data May 24, 1979* R32
Dominique Bedel 6-4 6-3 Heinz Gunthardt #62 H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32
Gianni Ocleppo 7-5 2-6 6-3 Jose Luis Clerc #12 H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32 Upset: winner had a 15 percent pre-match Elo win probability.
Adriano Panatta #18CH 6-4 6-2 Bill Scanlon #64 H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32
Peter Feigl #40 6-4 6-4 Antonio Zugarelli H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32
Guillermo Vilas #4 6-2 4-6 6-4 Phil Dent H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32
John Alexander #15 7-6 6-4 Christophe Freyss H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32
Eddie Dibbs #8 6-2 6-3 Buster C Mottram #31 H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32
Terry Moor #69 6-3 6-1 Sandy Mayer #23 H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32
Harold Solomon #7 3-6 6-2 7-5 Chris Lewis #34 H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32
Ivan Lendl #48 6-1 7-6 Fernando Luna H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32
Jose Higueras #9 6-3 6-3 Warren Maher — Match data May 24, 1979* R32
Paolo Bertolucci #53 6-4 5-7 7-6 Tomas Smid #44 H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32
Corrado Barazzutti #17 6-2 6-4 Kim Warwick #54 H2H Match data May 24, 1979* R32
R64 (32)
Alvaro Fillol 6-3 1-6 6-0 Mike Cahill #70 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Jose Higueras #9 6-3 5-7 6-2 Butch Walts #37 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Kim Warwick #54 6-4 6-2 Angel Gimenez #95 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Dick Stockton #22 7-6 6-3 Marco Alciati H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Corrado Barazzutti #17 7-5 6-2 Eliot Teltscher #28 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Dominique Bedel 6-4 6-4 Brian Gottfried #11 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64 Upset: winner had a 6 percent pre-match Elo win probability.
John Alexander #15 5-7 7-5 6-4 Mark Edmondson #67 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Christophe Freyss 7-6 6-2 Diego Perez H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Peter Feigl #40 6-4 6-7 7-5 Jaime Fillol #86 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Jose Luis Clerc #12 2-6 6-0 6-1 Gabriel Urpi H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Fernando Luna 6-4 6-1 Nick Saviano #72 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Phil Dent 2-6 6-3 6-0 John Lloyd — Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Adriano Panatta #18CH 6-2 6-2 Ricardo Cano #68 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Sandy Mayer #23 6-1 2-6 7-6 Peter Fleming #20 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Vitas Gerulaitis #5CH 6-1 6-2 Fernando Dalla Fontana — Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Tim Wilkison #49 6-4 6-4 Tom Gullikson — Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Tomas Smid #44 7-6 6-3 Raul Ramirez #21CH H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Heinz Gunthardt #62 6-1 6-4 Zoltan Ilin — Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Gianni Ocleppo 6-4 6-0 John Marks #74 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Warren Maher 6-3 6-4 Claudio Panatta — Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Chris Lewis #34 6-1 6-1 Ferdi Taygan #84 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Buster C Mottram #31 3-6 6-3 6-4 Jeff Borowiak #99 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Paolo Bertolucci #53 6-4 3-6 6-2 Patrick Proisy H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Bill Scanlon #64 6-4 6-3 Carlos Kirmayr #55 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Tim Gullikson 6-1 5-7 7-6 Bruce Manson — Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Guillermo Vilas #4 6-2 6-1 Carlos Gattiker H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Antonio Zugarelli 6-2 6-4 Ilie Nastase #192× CH H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64 Upset: winner had a 16 percent pre-match Elo win probability.
Terry Moor #69 6-1 6-4 Alvin Gardiner #94 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Eddie Dibbs #8 6-4 7-5 Peter Mcnamara — Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Gene Mayer #27 7-5 6-0 Francisco Gonzalez #66 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Harold Solomon #7 2-6 6-2 6-2 Deon Joubert #61 H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64
Ivan Lendl #48 6-4 6-2 Cassio Motta H2H Match data May 23, 1979* R64

Tournament Records

The leading Open Era records for Italian Open.

Most Titles

Open Era singles titles.

  1. Rafael Nadal 10 titles

Most Finals

Champion or runner-up finishes. 2 players share this record.

  1. Novak Djokovic 12 finals

Most Match Wins

Recorded main-draw match wins.

  1. Rafael Nadal 70 wins

Most Appearances

Editions with a recorded main-draw match. 2 players share this record.

  1. Novak Djokovic 19 appearances

View the full Italian Open record book →

Open Era main-draw singles records from 1968 onward. Ranking records begin where reliable entering rankings are available.

Recent Finals

Recent Italian Open finals
WinnerScoreRunner-upH2HMatch DataSeasonSurface
Jannik Sinner #1 6-4 6-4 Casper Ruud #25 H2H Match data 2026 Clay
Carlos Alcaraz #3 7-6(5) 6-1 Jannik Sinner #1 H2H Match data 2025 Clay
Alexander Zverev #5 6-4 7-5 Nicolas Jarry #24 H2H Match data 2024 Clay
Daniil Medvedev #3 7-5 7-5 Holger Rune #7 H2H Match data 2023 Clay
Novak Djokovic #1 6-0 7-6(5) Stefanos Tsitsipas #5 H2H Match data 2022 Clay

View full tournament history →

Related Tournaments

Other ATP 500 tournaments in 1979

Previous editions of Italian Open

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Italian Open held?
Italian Open is held in Rome, Italy.
Who is the latest recorded Italian Open winner?
The 2026 Italian Open was won by Jannik Sinner, who defeated Casper Ruud 6-4 6-4.
Who has won the most Italian Open titles?
Rafael Nadal has won 10 Italian Open titles, the most by any player in the Open Era (since 1968).
When was the first Italian Open played?
The first edition of Italian Open was held in 1930.
What surface is Italian Open played on?
Italian Open is played on clay courts.