Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic 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 initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and guided his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
