Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player until the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 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, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
