Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
The player made history by becoming the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's most accomplished player until the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national 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 record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."