Italy's Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player until the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
