Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's most accomplished player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
In addition to his two French Open triumphs, 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 guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
