Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first 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 finest player until the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his two French Open victories, 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, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
