Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli is one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player until the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 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 inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
