"A Sad Day for Italian Sport," Fognini Pays Tribute to Pietrangeli

Fabio Fognini paid tribute to Nicola Pietrangeli, who died on December 1 at the age of 92. The Italian champion's funeral took place in recent hours in the capital Rome.

AFP

Adrien Guyot

le 04/12/2025 à 07h33

2 min to read

Fognini Pietrangeli

In early December, the tennis world learned with emotion of the death of Nicola Pietrangeli at the age of 92. A two-time winner of Roland-Garros in 1959 and 1960 and a Hall of Fame member, the Italian is a great name in tennis before the start of the Open era.

His funeral took place in a small gathering at the Gran Madre di Dio Ponte Milvio church in Rome, the city where Pietrangeli died a few days earlier. Among the players who attended the ceremony, Fabio Fognini paid tribute to his illustrious elder.

"I remember the reproaches he made to me, there's no doubt about that. The most beautiful image is that of all the travels he made in the old Davis Cup. He was always present for the Davis Cup, he was immortal. He defended our colors more than anyone.

I will certainly remember him as a cheerful person, who always had a word to laugh and the right state of mind. Today is a sad day for our beloved sport. I had a very beautiful relationship with him and it is a sad day for Italian sport, for tennis in particular.

We will miss him. We will miss his style and especially his personality. He is the one who passed on to me the value of this blue jersey, it is my duty to be here. I have very beautiful memories with him in the Davis Cup. He was fantastic and, as President Angelo Binaghi said, he leaves a great void today in our magnificent sport," assured Fognini for Super Tennis.