Italy's Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy the following year.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's most accomplished player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
