Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player until the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
