Azzurri Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated 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 Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
