Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
Nicola Pietrangeli is one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 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 maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
