Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player until the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
