Italy's Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by becoming the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials 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..."
