Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
