Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."