Italy's Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
