Italy's Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's finest player until the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final 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 guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
