Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player until the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
