Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis is mourning a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player until the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
