Italian Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a authentic pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the pioneering Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player until the emergence of current star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
