Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's finest player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers 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..."
