Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
Nicola Pietrangeli remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Beyond his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
