Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player until the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
