Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
