Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
