Italy's Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 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 maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
