Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by becoming the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player until the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an legend. 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 reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
