Italian Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player until the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
