Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player until the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
