Azzurri Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player until the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
