Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player until the advent 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 honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
