Azzurri Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."