Italy's Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli is among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player until the advent of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up 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 led 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 say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
