Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's most accomplished player prior to the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is grieving an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, 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..."
