Italy's Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title.
Italian sport mourns a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two.
The player made history by becoming the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With an impressive 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player prior to the emergence of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an legend. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
Alongside his pair of French Open successes, Pietrangeli also reached the final in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and led his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a two-time winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
