Italian Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player until the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
