Italian Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
