đź”— Share this article Italy's Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at the Age of 92 The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title. Italian sport mourns a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two. He carved his legacy by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's finest player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation. Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
The tennis champion stands as one of only three Italian men to claim a major singles title. Italian sport mourns a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at ninety-two. He carved his legacy by becoming the initial Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, earning his initial triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the coveted trophy a year later. With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the country's finest player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation. Alongside his two French Open successes, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964. He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976. Organisers of the Italian Open, where he was a double winner, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."