Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
