Italian Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis mourns a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever 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 legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Beyond his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
