Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
The player made history by becoming the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International 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 set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
