Azzurri Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player until the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
