(Video) Novak Djokovic Breaks Down in Tears While Remembering Late ‘Tennis Father’ Nikola Pilic in Athens

Novak Djokovic will lock horns with Portugal's Nuno Borges in the quarterfinals of the Hellenic Championship.

(Video) Novak Djokovic Breaks Down in Tears While Remembering Late ‘Tennis Father’ Nikola Pilic in Athens

Novak Djokovic got emotional while remembering late mentor Nikola Pilic (Image via Tennis.com, X/TNTSports)

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After Novak Djokovic‘s first match in the first edition of the Hellenic Championship in Athens against Alejandro Tabilo, the tournament organizers paid tribute to Nikola Pilic, who died in September this year.

Pilic was a former French Open runner-up who, after becoming a coach, led Germany to three Davis Cup titles. Djokovic worked under him, joining his academy when he was 12. So when the video was played after his match, he couldn’t control his emotions.

It was an emotional moment. Considering what he meant to me and my family – privately, also professionally – he was my tennis father, as I like to call him, someone that has played a fundamental, integral role in my development as a tennis player and as a human being. It was really sad news when I heard that he passed away a few months ago.

Novak Djokovic told the ATPTour.com

For the 24-time Grand Slam champion, Pilic was his ‘tennis father’. Pilic worked with him from 1999 to 2003.

As long as I play tennis and as long as I live, I will celebrate his name. And tonight this was one of the moments of how to pay tribute, and I’m sure in the near future – in the far future as well – people will learn about how Niki has impacted the world of tennis and the world of sport. He deserves it. He was a very special man.

Novak Djokovic added

Djokovic’s current coach is Boris Bosnjakovic, who has been part of his team since 2023 and worked as an assistant coach before taking the duties of head coach after Wimbledon this year. Earlier this year, he split with his coach of six months and his longtime rival, Andy Murray.

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Novak Djokovic and his family have permanently moved to Athens, reportedly because he supported students’ protests against the Serbian government. After the relocation, a mural of the 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist was defaced. Djokovic’s former rival, Andy Roddick, said such treatment of Serbia’s biggest star is “sad”.

Novak Djokovic (via X/Tennis head/Instagram)
Novak Djokovic (via X/Tennis head/Instagram)

It’s sad to see it. It stinks. I’m sure he’s not crazy about it. He’s also always shown up and played for Serbia- Olympics, Davis Cup- when he hasn’t had to. No one would, at this age.

Djokovic beat Alejandro Tabilo for the first time after two consecutive defeats. The 38-year-old is chasing his second title of the season, following the Geneva Open, an ATP 250 event he won by beating Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. He also reached the final of the Miami Open but couldn’t go past Jakub Mensik. Apart from the two finals, he also played the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events.

Djokovic will next be locking horns with Nuno Borges, who knocked out Stefanos Sakellaridis and Eliot Spizzirri. The Portuguese ace will be locking horns with Nole for the first time in his career.

Following the Hellenic Championship, it will be the time for the ATP Finals, which is scheduled to start on November 9. Djokovic, who last won the title in 2023 by defeating Jannik Sinner, skipped the tournament last year.

He is also uncertain about his participation. Following his win over Tabilo, when Djokovic was asked about the Italian Tennis Federation’s president Angelo Binaghi‘s claim that he would be playing the ATP Finals, he denied confirming his participation. Djokovic is the tournament’s most successful player with seven titles.

Last year, Djokovic ended his season at the Shanghai Masters, where in the final, Sinner beat him in straight sets. This year in Shanghai, eventual champion Valentin Vacherot knocked him out in the semifinals.

Also read: David Ferrer Responds to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s Absence from Davis Cup