Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."