# Nicola Pietrangeli

Nicola "Nicky" Pietrangeli (Italian pronunciation:; born 11 September 1933) is an Italian former tennis player. He won two singles titles at the French Championships and is considered by many to be one of Italy's greatest tennis champions.

## Biography

Nicola Chirinsky Pietrangeli was born 11 September 1933, in Tunis, then a French colony, to a father also born in Tunis but of Italian parents from Abruzzo and Campania, and to a Russian mother whose father was Danish. Pietrangeli made his international debut at the 1952 Italian Open, losing in fours sets to Jacques Peten. He appeared in four men's singles finals at Roland Garros – winning the title in 1959 and 1960, and finishing runner-up in 1961 and 1964. He also won the Roland Garros men's doubles title in 1959 (together with Orlando Sirola), and the mixed doubles in 1958. At Wimbledon, Pietrangeli was a single semifinalist in 1960, when he lost to Rod Laver in 5 sets. He won the Italian Open in 1957 and 1961 and was ranked World No. 3 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph in 1959 and 1960 and also by Ned Potter in 1961.
Pietrangeli represented Italy in the Davis Cup between 1954 and 1972. He played in a record 164 Davis Cup rubbers, winning a record 120. He was a player on the Italian teams which reached the Davis Cup final in 1960 and 1961. Both finals were played on grass courts in Australia, and the Italians were not able to overcome the strong Australian team which included Laver, Roy Emerson and Neale Fraser.
After retiring as a player, Pietrangeli became Italy's Davis Cup team captain and guided them to winning their first-ever Davis Cup in 1976.
Pietrangeli was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1986. On his 73rd birthday, the old tennis stadium in Foro Italico of Rome was named in his honour; he is among the very few tennis players to have received such an honour while still living (others include Laver and Margaret Court). He also played a supporting role in the movie There Was a Castle with Forty Dogs in 1990.

## Personal life

He had a relationship with the Italian journalist Licia Colò, 30 years younger than him. He's an Eastern Orthodox Christian.

## Grand Slam finals
### Singles (2 titles, 2 runners-up)

| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1959 | French Championships | Clay | Ian Vermaak | 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 1960 | French Championships | Clay | Luis Ayala | 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1961 | French Championships | Clay | Manuel Santana | 6–4, 1–6, 6–3, 0–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 1964 | French Championships | Clay | Manuel Santana | 3–6, 1–6, 6–4, 5–7 |

### Doubles (1 title, 2 runners-up)

| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 1955 | French Championships | Clay | Orlando Sirola | Vic Seixas Tony Trabert | 1–6, 6–4, 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 1956 | Wimbledon Championships | Grass | Orlando Sirola | Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall | 5–7, 2–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 1959 | French Championships | Clay | Orlando Sirola | Roy Emerson Neale Fraser | 6–3, 6–2, 14–12 |

### Mixed doubles (1 title)

| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1958 | French Championships | Clay | Shirley Bloomer | Lorraine Coghlan Bob Howe | 8–6, 6–2 |

## Performance timeline

Key :
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | Amateur career | Amateur career | Amateur career | Amateur career | Amateur career | Amateur career | Amateur career | Amateur career | Amateur career | Amateur career | Amateur career | Amateur career | Amateur career | Amateur career | Open career | Open career | Open career | Open career | Open career | Open career | Career SR | Career W–L | Career Win% |
| Tournament | '54 | '55 | '56 | '57 | '58 | '59 | '60 | '61 | '62 | '63 | '64 | '65 | '66 | '67 | '68 | '69 | '70 | '71 | '72 | '73 | Career SR | Career W–L | Career Win% |
| Grand Slam tournaments ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | QF | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | 67% |
| French Open | 3R | 3R | QF | 1R | 4R | W | W | F | QF | QF | F | 4R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 2 / 20 | 58–18 | 79% |
| Wimbledon | 2R | QF | 4R | 1R | 4R | 1R | SF | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 3R | 1R | 0 / 19 | 30–18 | 63% |
| US Open | A | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 2R | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 4 | 5–3 | 63% |
| Career | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 / 44 | 95–40 | 70% |