Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player prior to the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Beyond his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
