Italy's Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli remains among a select trio of Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport mourns a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
The player made history by emerging as the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, securing his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is grieving an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
In addition to his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event 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..."
