Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player until the advent of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
