Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player prior to the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, 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 Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural 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..."
