Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli remains among a select trio of Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
