Italy's Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be 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 mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded 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 say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
