Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."