Italy's Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's finest player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts 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.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
