Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond 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 prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
