Italy's Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history by becoming the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player until the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.
Beyond his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
