Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player prior to the emergence 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 World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, 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 spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."