Azzurri Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player until the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
