Nikola Pilic, the first coach that Novak Djokovic had in his career, has granted an interview to the Serbian medium Sportklub in which he wanted to value the title won by ‘Nole’ at Wimbledon and in which he took advantage again to put Djokovic ahead of Nadal and Federer in the fight to be the best tennis player in history.
Pilic believes this is the most important win for Djokovic in his career given everything he’s been through this year and believes he was superior to Kyrgios in the final as well. “It has been a very important tournament for Novak, more than any previous one. He has had a lot of problems this year, he can’t play the US Open even though he doesn’t have the coronavirus and last year, he was a bigger threat, he was able to play. I think Djokovic has won the most important title of his life. Novak gave up the first set until he picked up the pace. The key moment was when Kyrgios lost that 40-0 that he had. When Djokovic took two sets to one it became clear that he is much better on the court. Kyrgios is very talented, but Djokovic is a better tennis player”.
Djokovic’s former coach also stressed that, if instead of Kyrgios, Djokovic’s rival in the final had been Nadal (the Spaniard did not play the semifinals due to an abdominal injury), the Spanish tennis player would not have had a chance of victory either. “Nadal did not play well throughout the tournament. He struggled with his form, and I don’t think he would have beaten Djokovic in the final. I am very sure of that.”
Pilic also wanted to highlight the work of Goran Ivanisevic, whom he coached when the Croatian won the Wimbledon title in 2001. “Of course Goran Ivanisevic’s help has been important. He played three finals in London and won the title in 2001 when he was on his coaching staff. Two people know more than one and he learned a lot from me. He was already noticed as a coach with Marin Cilic and now it has been confirmed”.
Finally Pilic wanted to pronounce on the fight to be the best in history and, after Djokovic’s victory at Wimbledon, he has it even clearer, although he also applauded Nadal’s achievements. “By all parameters, Djokovic is better than Nadal and Federer. He has been number one for 374 weeks, which is impressive. In addition, only he has been able among the three to win all the Grand Slam titles twice and has a positive balance with almost all the players. But also You have to take your hat off to Nadal. I think that for hundreds of years no one will win 14 Roland Garros like he has.”
