Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."