Dec 1 : During a break in the French Open final, in 1960, Nicola Pietrangeli took his shoes off in the locker room. His socks were red with blood.
In the first three sets, Chile's Luis Ayala had been tormenting Pietrangeli with drop shots and lobs, forcing the Italian tennis player to sprint forward and back until the skin peeled off his feet.
He played the rest of the gruelling match on raw flesh. Still, he danced across the court with the elegance of a matador — and claimed his second Roland Garros crown.
His prize money: $150, he later recalled.
Before the sport began to turn professional in 1968, and long before the vast financial rewards of modern tennis, Pietrangeli was a master on clay — and Italy's greatest player.
"It was truly a completely different world — much less professional," Rafael Nadal, the Spanish great, said in 2024 of that tennis era. "Yet it produced great champions like Pietrangeli, who helped our sport grow and improve in every way, both on and off the court.”
Pietrangeli died at the age of 92, the Italian tennis federation announced on its website on Monday. The cause was not immediately known. He had been in declining health following a hip fracture in December 2024.
A STAR WHO MADE TENNIS ITALIAN
Pietrangeli wasn't just the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title. He was also a cultural phenomenon.
He brought tennis into the national consciousness at a time when it was still seen as a sport for the elite. With his movie-star looks, cosmopolitan charm, and a backhand that seemed to float on air, he made the game as elegant as his life was exuberant.
The Italian Tennis Federation called him "the father of our tennis movement".
Despite his extraordinary talent he openly admitted that he was
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