Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
