Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished 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 inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural 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 true legend of Italian tennis..."
