Rafael Nadal, touching farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli

Even a tennis great like Rafael Nadal wanted to dedicate a tribute to Nicola Pietrangeli, who, like him, dominated on the clay at Roland Garros in the past. The Manacor star remembered the Italian icon on Instagram with a message accompanying a photo together on the court.

“I just learned of the sad news of the passing of a great of Italian and world tennis – wrote Nadal -. My deepest condolences to his entire family, his son Filippo and the entire Italian tennis family. Rest in peace, Nicola”.

Pietrangeli handed the Roland Garros trophy to Nadal several times during the years of the Iberian tennis player’s dominance in Paris.

The Italian legend won Roland Garros twice (1959, 1960), going to the final on two other occasions when he succumbed to Manuel Santana (1961, 1964).