Italy's Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at 92
The tennis champion stands as among a select trio of Italian men to claim a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport is mourning a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by becoming the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his first triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation.
Beyond his two French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, stated: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
