Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player prior to the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to 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, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
