Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli is one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double 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 maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation.
In addition to his two French Open triumphs, 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, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
