Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 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.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
