Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
