Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
Nicola Pietrangeli is one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's most accomplished player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event 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..."
