Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
