Azzurri Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double 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 the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player until the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation.
In addition to his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials 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..."
