Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, 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 double winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
