Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national 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 Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
