Italy's Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
The tennis champion is one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
The world of tennis mourns a genuine legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's greatest ever player until the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," announced the national federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."