Azzurri Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
