Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Beyond his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up 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 led 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..."