Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's finest player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
