Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning 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 greatest ever player until the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
