Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
Nicola Pietrangeli is among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's greatest ever player until the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials 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..."
