Italy's Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's greatest ever player until the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Alongside his pair of 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 Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
