Italian Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final 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 spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
