Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
Nicola Pietrangeli is one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
The player made history by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's most accomplished player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 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.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
