Italian Tennis Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
The player made history by becoming the first Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's finest 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 enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Beyond his two French Open victories, 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 prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
