Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as one of only three Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a true pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the country's greatest ever player prior to the rise of current world number two 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 Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final 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 led his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, commented: "It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
