Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
