Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player until the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
