Italy's Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player until the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
Beyond his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up 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 led his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
