Italy's Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli is among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
The world of tennis mourns a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
