Nicola Pietrangeli died at 92: farewell to legendary Italian tennis player

Italian tennis is mourning the passing of Nicola Pietrangeli. The Italian star, the first Italian to win a Grand Slam tournament, has died at the age of 92. Born in Tunis in 1933, Pietrangeli won Roland Garros in singles in 1959 and 1960. Also in the Paris tournament, he reached the final on two other occasions, in 1958 and 1961, and won the doubles tournament in 1959 paired with Orlando Sirola.

World No. 3 in 1959 and 1960, he was a specialist and great dominator on clay and became the’icon of Italian tennis in the world. Another feather in the cap of his career was the Davis Cup, where he was an absolute protagonist: he holds the world record for matches played and won, with 164 total appearances and 120 victories.

He was a world champion in the Davis Cup.

He never managed to win the salad bowl as a player but reached the final twice in 1960 and 1961. He then won it as a non-player captain in 1976. He won a total of 55 career tournaments between singles and doubles: he is the’only Italian tennis player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame (in 1986).