Azzurri Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's finest player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, 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 say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
