Azzurri Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as 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 double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
