Nicola Pietrangeli is widely regarded as a key figure in Italian tennis and the best player to come out of the country. His role in Davis Cup has been extremely important as he proudly represented his country from 1954 to 1972. It was under his leadership that Italy won the first Davis Cup title in 1976.

Until last week, that was the only Davis Cup title the country had. Last Sunday, after nearly 5 decades, Jannik Sinner helped bring the title home, and Pietrangeli got to share the honor with him. This heartwarming moment strcuk a chord with several renowned names in the tennis world, including the likes of Boris Becker and Martina Navratilova.

Martina Navratilova congratulates Italy and Nicola Pietrangeli for winning the Davis Cup

The first time Italy won the Davis Cup was when Nicola Pietrangeli led the team. Since 1976, the Italian have failed to mount a serious challenge in the world cup of men’s tennis. A very long time indeed. And this is why it mattered a lot to every Italian tennis fan, especially Pietrangeli. The Italian tennis legend, being the first to bring the Davis Cup to Italy, was rightly honored at the ceremony this year.

Following Italy’s impressive victory, Martina Navratilova posted a congratulatory message on her official Twitter account. She wrote, “Happily crying as I watch Nicola Pietrangeli lift the Davis Cup trophy for Italy- well done to all for an amazing week.”

It was not just her who shared the joy. Boris Becker also joined in. Becker posted a story on his official Instagram account with a picture of the team lifting the trophy, along with Nicola Pietrangeli.

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He also wrote the caption, “Very emotional scenes out of Madrid, watching Pietrangeli lift the trophy”. The sheer joy of winning the trophy after such a long time truly resonates with several renowned figures, irrespective of their nationality.

But Navratilova didn’t stop after wishing the Italians. She also raised a concern about the tennis schedule once again.

Navratilova questions the long schedule of the tennis season

After she congratulated the team for their win, she also talked about how the tennis calendar is quite long and does not have any scope for rest or break for the tennis players. She also mentioned that this is a problem that has been going on for decades and nothing has been done about it.

Finally, she also added that there is a desperate need for an off-season in tennis. Many renowned names, like Djokovic, have also complained about the schedule, considering that the top players only get a month off before the start of the next season.

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