Azzurri Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player prior to the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
