Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli is among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist 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 first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
