Italian Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player until the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
