Azzurri Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by becoming the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
