Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's most accomplished player until the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist 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 guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
