Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's most accomplished player until the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
