Azzurri Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis is mourning a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."