TENNIS icon Nikola Pilic has died aged 86.
The Croatian tennis star died on Monday, according to a statement released by the Croatian Tennis Association.
EPATennis icon Nikola Pilic has died aged 86[/caption]
Pilic was a Grand Slam champion thanks to his success in the US Open doubles in 1970.
While he reached the final of the doubles at Wimbledon 1962 and was a finalist for the men’s singles at the 1973 French Open.
His runner-up effort at Roland Garros came in the same year that he was a catalyst for the Wimbledon boycott.
Pilic had been accused by Yugoslavia tennis officials of refusing to play a David Cup match against New Zealand, something he denied.
However, he was still suspended by the International Lawn Tennis Federation and ultimately forced to miss out on the 1973 Wimbledon.
Standing with Pilic, 81 top male players boycotted the All England Club tournament – including 12 of the 16 top seeds.
Pilic’s playing days saw him win nine singles titles and reached a highest ranking of No6.
He retired in 1978, turning his attention to coaching.
As a coach he became the first captain to win the Davis Cup with three different nations, doing so with Germany in 1988, 1989 and 1993, Croatia in 2005 and Serbia in 2010.
He also set up his own tennis academy near Munich which helped nurture some of the sport’s best players, including Michael Stich, Novak Djokovic, Ernests Gulbis.
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