Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's finest player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
