Italian Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
