Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player until the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Beyond his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."