Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player until the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
