Italian Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis mourns a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
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 successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's most accomplished player until the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event 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..."
