Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the nation's greatest ever player until the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event 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..."
