🔗 Share this article Italy's Court Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92 Nicola Pietrangeli stands as one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two. Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden 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 country's most accomplished player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation. In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 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, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
Nicola Pietrangeli stands as one of only three Italian men to secure a major singles title. Italian sport says goodbye to a authentic legend: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at ninety-two. Pietrangeli etched his name by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, earning his maiden 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 country's most accomplished player until the advent of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner. "Italian tennis is in mourning for an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian enrolled in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," confirmed the Italian Tennis Federation. In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964. He boasts a remarkable 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 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, said: "We are profoundly saddened that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."