Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player until the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
