Italian Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the prestigious trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
