Azzurri Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis mourns a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
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-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
