Azzurri Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
