Italy's Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided 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 true legend of Italian tennis..."
