Azzurri Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
