ZAGREB, Croatia — Croatian tennis nice Nikola Pilić, the primary captain to guide three international locations to Davis Cup glory and who skilled Novak Djokovic in his academy, has died. He was 86.
The Croatian Tennis Affiliation stated Pilić died on Monday.
Pilić was a French Open singles runner-up in 1973 and the catalyst for the Wimbledon boycott that 12 months.
Yugoslavia tennis officers accused Pilić of refusing to play a Davis Cup tie in opposition to New Zealand. He denied it however was nonetheless suspended. The Worldwide Garden Tennis Federation (now the ITF) supported the Yugoslav determination however lowered his suspension to at least one month — however that included Wimbledon.
As a result of Pilić was supported by the brand new Affiliation of Tennis Professionals, 12 of the 16 high seeds and a complete of 81 gamers boycotted Wimbledon.
Pilić was already a star when tennis turned totally skilled in 1968. When U.S. businessman Lamar Hunt backed a brand new skilled tour known as World Championship Tennis, the likes of Pilić, John Newcombe and Tony Roche had been the primary eight males’s gamers signed — known as the Good-looking Eight.
Pilić gained 9 singles titles and reached a highest singles rating of No. 6. He misplaced the French Open ultimate to Ilje Nastase. His six doubles titles included the 1970 U.S. Open with Pierre Barthes in opposition to Newcombe and Rod Laver in a four-set ultimate.
After his taking part in retirement in 1978, Pilić coached and gained the Davis Cup as a non-playing captain with Boris Becker’s Germany (1988, 1989, 1993), Croatia (2005) and Serbia (2010).
Future stars who handed by means of his academy close to Munich included Michael Stich, Goran Ivanisevic and Djokovic, who known as Pilić his mentor.
