Azzurri Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
Nicola Pietrangeli is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded 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..."
