Italian Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player until the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and led 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 true legend of Italian tennis..."
