Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
The player made history by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's finest player until the rise 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 passed away," announced the national federation.
In addition to his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 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, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
