Azzurri Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis mourns a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's finest player prior to the advent of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
