The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
The world of tennis mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's finest player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist 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 led his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event 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..."
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