Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player prior to the rise of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
