"Nicola Pietrangeli: Italian Tennis Legend, Hall of Famer, and 'Dolce Vita' Icon Dies at 92" by Carlo Coppola
Italian tennis has lost its greatest icon. Nicola Pietrangeli passed away today in Rome at the age of 92, leaving an unfillable void in national sport. With his passing, Italy says goodbye to the first Azzurro to win a Grand Slam, the only Italian in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and the man who opened the path for champions like Adriano Panatta and Jannik Sinner.
From Tunisia to Rome: The Unlikely Start of a Tennis Champion
Pietrangeli's remarkable story began far from Italy. Born in Tunis in 1933, he was the son of Giulio, an entrepreneur of Abruzzese and Neapolitan origins. His grandfather Michele, a bricklayer who emigrated from Abruzzo, built his fortune in North Africa starting with just a wheelbarrow.
During the war, a bombing flattened the family's home. Young Nicola miraculously survived and started playing tennis in a prisoner-of-war camp alongside his father. Expelled from Tunisia, the Pietrangeli family arrived in Italy in poverty, settling in a small pension room in Rome.
Roland Garros and Unbeatable Davis Cup Records
From those difficult beginnings, a tennis legend was born. Pietrangeli secured two monumental victories at Roland Garros in 1959 and 1960, claimed two titles at the Italian Open (Internazionali d’Italia), and reached a Wimbledon semi-final.
In the Davis Cup, he set records that remain unbroken to this day: 164 matches played and 78 singles victories. Later, in 1976, he captained Italy to its historic first Davis Cup victory against Chile. This historic achievement cemented Pietrangeli’s status as a key figure in Italian tennis history.
The Dolce Vita Star: Pietrangeli’s Philosophy
Elegant both on and off the court, a friend of cultural figures like Marcello Mastroianni and Brigitte Bardot, Pietrangeli embodied the Fellinian Dolce Vita. His famous, smiling motto reflected his priorities: "If I had trained more, I would have won more, but I would have had less fun."
A Champion's Final, Painful Battle
His final months had been extremely difficult: a fractured hip, hospitalizations, and the unbearable pain following the death of his son Giorgio last July. "I should have died first, it's not right," he had confessed in his final interviews.
Today, Italian sport loses a pioneer, a symbol of tenacity and unparalleled style. Federal President Angelo Binaghi remembered him as "the first to teach us that we, too, could compete with the world." His name will forever remain in the pantheon of Italian tennis legends.
By Carlo Coppola
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