Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
