Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double 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 the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
