Azzurri Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's most accomplished player until the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
