Italian Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by becoming the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever 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 World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds 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, an event where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
