Italian Court Icon Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli remains among a select trio of Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at the age of 92.
The player made history by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden 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 star and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the national federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its first title in 1976.
Officials 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..."
