🔗 Share this article Azzurri Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92 Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport is mourning a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two. The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport is mourning a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two. The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner. "The sport in Italy is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation. Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."