Italian Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at Ninety-Two

Nicola Pietrangeli

The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Italian sport mourns a authentic icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, left us at 92.

He carved his legacy by emerging as the pioneering Italian to capture a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy the following year.

With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was universally regarded as the nation's finest player until the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.

"The sport in Italy is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," stated the national federation.

Beyond his pair of French Open triumphs, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.

He holds a remarkable 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, said: "It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."

Melissa Brown
Melissa Brown

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