Italian Tennis Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at 92
Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy’s tennis icon and two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92, the Italian Tennis Federation announced on Monday.
Born in Tunis in 1933 to an Italian father and Russian mother, Pietrangeli was widely regarded as Italy’s greatest tennis player until the emergence of world number two Jannik Sinner. Over his career, he won 44 singles titles, including back-to-back victories at Roland Garros in 1959 and 1960. He also reached the Wimbledon final in 1960 and finished runner-up in the French Open twice more.
Pietrangeli was a stalwart of Italy’s Davis Cup team, playing 164 matches and later captaining the team to its first Davis Cup title in 1976. He remains the only Italian inducted into the World Tennis Hall of Fame.
“Italian tennis is mourning an icon,” said the Italian Tennis Federation. Organisers of the Italian Open, which Pietrangeli won twice, paid tribute, saying, “It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis… Ciao, Nicola.”
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