Zagreb, Croatia – Croatian tennis great Nikola Pilic has passed away as the first captain to lead three nations to the glory of the Davis Cup and train Novak Djokovic at the academy. He was 86 years old.
The Croatian Tennis Association said Pilic passed away on Monday.
Pirich was the runner-up in France’s Open Singles in 1973, and was the catalyst for the Wimbledon boycott that year.
Yugoslavia tennis officials accused Pirich of refusing to play the Davis Cup tie with New Zealand. He denied it, but it was still suspended. The International Lawn Tennis Federation (now ITF) supported Yugoslavia’s decision, but reduced his suspension to a month, including Wimbledon.
This is because Pirich was supported by the new Association of Tennis Professionals, 12 of the 16 top seeds and a total of 81 players boycotting Wimbledon.
Pirich was already a star in 1968 when tennis became completely professional. When American businessman Lamar Hunt supported a new professional tour called World Championship Tennis, Pilic, John Newcombe and Tony Roche were the first eight male players, known as the Handsome 8.
Pirich won nine single titles, reaching No. 6’s best single ranking. His six doubles titles included the 1970 US Open with Pierre Valtes against Newcomb and Rodler in the final of four sets.
After retiring in 1978, Pilic coached the Davis Cup as a non-play captain for Boris Becker’s Germany (1988, 1989, 1993), Croatia (2005) and Serbia (2010) and won the Davis Cup.
Future stars who passed through the academy near Munich included Michael Stitch, Golan Ivanisevic and Djokovic.
