Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by becoming the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
