Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving 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 widely considered the nation's most accomplished player until the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
Beyond his two 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 Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden 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..."
