Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player until the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, 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, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
