Italy's Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
The tennis champion remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
He carved his legacy by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's most accomplished player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Beyond his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural 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 true legend of Italian tennis..."
