Azzurri Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
Nicola Pietrangeli is among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player until the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 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, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
