Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player until the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated 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 set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
