Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
