Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam 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 pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
