Italy's Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player prior to the rise of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two 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, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
