Azzurri Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
