Italy's Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's finest player prior to the advent of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
