Novak Djokovic: “It was one of the saddest moments”

Novak Djokovic paid tribute to the legendary Nikola Pilic at the Davis Cup. The 1970 US Open doubles winner died in September at the age of 86, and a ceremony was held in his honor attended by the likes of Nole, Ivan Ljubicic and Boris Becker.

Before the duel between Italy and Austria In the quarterfinals, the event took place to commemorate the figure of Djokovic’s tennis father who did not want to miss the event.

Djokovic dedicated an emotional message to the late Split-born icon, saying: “Thank you to everyone who came, this is a moment of mixed emotions for me. When we received the news, It was one of the saddest moments for me, because Nicky was very important in my life, in my career, as well as in the careers of all the gentlemen who come after me.

“I have to say that there is no better competition than the Davis Cup to celebrate what Niki Pilic has done, who will continue to be the only coach in this very important team competition to win the trophy with three countries: Germany, Croatia and Serbia. It is an incredible performance, which probably no one will repeat. Nikki, we will always remember you. We love you,” he concluded.

Pilic captained a German team, which included Becker, in the 1988 and 1989 Davis Cups, before leading Ljubicic and his native Croatia to win the 2005 edition of the event. He also had success as part of Serbia’s coaching team in 2010, where he worked with Djokovic.

And as a result, all three men were on hand to pay a heartfelt tribute to the tennis legend at this week’s event in Bologna.

As a player, in addition to being a Roland Garros finalist in 1973, he suffered the suspension from the Yugoslav Tennis Federation for nine months for not playing in a Davis Cup match against New Zealand in Zagreb.

The International Tennis Federation confirmed the suspension, but reduced it to one month, so he could not play the Italian and German Opens, and the first week of Wimbledon. That measure led to the creation of the Association of Professional Tennis Players, which later joined with tournament directors in 1990 to form the ATP circuit.