Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's finest player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
