Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
