Italy's Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92.
He carved his legacy by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player until the rise of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
In addition to his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
