Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
