This weekend marks the 40-year anniversary of Australia’s remarkable win against Italy in the 1977 Davis Cup Final.

John Alexander’s five hour victory over Adriano Panatta is still considered one of the greatest in Australian Davis Cup history.

In the lead up to the Bennelong by-election on December 16, Alexander joins 4BC’s Alan Jones to talk more tennis than politics.

Down two sets to one, “we were in a lot of trouble,” he says.

“But tennis is one of those games that teaches you to stay calm in moments of stress.

“I often get asked what did you ever learn from tennis that you can to apply to politics… If you make a mistake, if you play badly, you’ve got to take responsibility for that result… and then devise a better strategy and evolve, as Tony Abbott would say, into your best self.”

Listen to the full interview below