Nikola Pilic was one of Novak Djokovic’s first coaches and the Croatian spoke about the Serb’s records and how long the ATP leader can play at the highest level.

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Novak Djokovic can play for another two years at the highest level, Nikola Pilic believes

Djokovic trained at Nikola Pilic’s academy for four years, starting in September 1999 (the Serb was 12 years old). Horvath believes that Nole can play at least two more years at the highest level, but that also depends on possible injuries and the Serbian’s motivation.

“It depends on his health. In my opinion, if Djokovic doesn’t get injured, he still has two years to play at the highest level. If there are no injuries, he can be in the top five players in the world for another two years.

It doesn’t matter if it’s second or fourth, the main thing is that it is there. Knowing him and knowing his professionalism and desire, it is very likely that it is more than two years, but only Novak can know that. Only Novak can decide how long he will play” – Nikola Pilichin an interview for Kurir.

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Novak Djokovic is the best player in the world – He proved that he is above Carlos Alcaraz and Yannick Sinner

Pilic says Djokovic is still a better player than Carlos Alcaraz and Yannick Sinner at the moment, and the Serb is mentally stronger than his young rivals.

“I’ve been saying it all year, Nole is the best player and I’ll keep saying it until everyone says it. Of the 20 or 21 tournaments that Djokovic plays a year, five or six are played in sixth gear. It doesn’t even matter who is on the other side. Djokovic has shown that he is superior to Alcaraz and Grishnyk mainly because of his psychological fortitude and self-belief.

I still say there are two records that I think are unattainable in tennis, namely Nadal’s 14 Roland Garros titles and Novak’s 400-plus weeks, which will be 410 titles before the Australian Open. I have been watching tennis for 65 years, and this is an all-time record” – Nikola Pilich.

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Jimmy Connors’ record is irrelevant – Novak Djokovic is the best in history, the numbers speak for themselves

Pilic believes that Jimmy Connors’ record (109 titles – the most won by a player in the Open era) does not count because the American won most of the trophies in smaller events.

“This record is not important to me. I know Connors and I beat him once in Philadelphia, but he won 90% of his US titles at 250. The level of tennis back then is nothing compared to today. Tennis is very different, times change, but the fact that Novak is the best in six important categories speaks volumes. This is what you see. The numbers say it all” – Nikola Pilichquoted by PuntoDeBreak.

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Players with the most singles titles in the Open Era:

1. Jimmy Connors (USA) 109

2. Roger Federer (Switzerland) 103

3. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 98

4. Ivan Lendl (Czech Republic) 94

5. Rafael Nadal (Spain) 92.

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Who is Nikola Pilich?

At the age of 84, Nikola Pilic’s highest ranking in the world was No. 6 in 1968. During his career, he won 9 singles and 6 doubles titles. Best Grand Slam performances: 1973 Roland Garros finalist (singles defeat to Ilie Nestase) and 1970 US Open champion (doubles).

He was non-playing Davis Cup captain for Germany (1988, 1989 and 1993), Croatia (2005) and Serbia (2010 – won the competition).

He runs a tennis academy in Oberschleissheim, near Munich, where he lives. Major players such as Michael Stich, Novak Djokovic, Ernest Gulbis and Anastasia Sevastova developed under the watch of the Croatian.

Photo: Nikola Krstich / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

The main records of Novak Djokovic

Born May 22, 1987 in Belgrade, Djokovic currently holds many tennis records, but the most important are the following three: most Grand Slam titles, most Masters (ATP 1000) and most weeks out of the ATP leaderboard.

1st place in the ATP at the end of the season

1 Novak Djokovic 8

2 Pete Sampras 6

3 Roger Federer / Jimmy Connors / Rafael Nadal 5 etc.

Ranking of Grand Slam titles

1 Novak Djokovic 24

2 Rafael Nadal 22

3 Roger Federer 20 (retired)

Ranking of Masters tournaments

1 Novak Djokovic 39

2 Rafael Nadal 36

3 Roger Federer 28 (retired)

Weeks under #1 ATP

1 Novak Djokovic 400

2 Roger Federer 301

3 Pete Sampras 286 etc.

Tournament of Champions, most titles

1 Novak Djokovic 7 (2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2023)

2 Roger Federer 6 (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011)

3 Ivan Lendl 5 (1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987)

3 Pete Sampras 5 (1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999)

5 Ilye Nastase 4 (1971, 1972, 1973, 1975), etc.

• At the age of 36, Novak Djokovic has had a fantastic season, winning 3 out of 4 Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, Roland Garros, US Open).

• He also won tournaments: ATP Finals, Paris Masters, Cincinnati Masters and Adelaide 1. Tennis awards this season brought Nole (so far) $15,936,097.

• Nole will finish 2023 with 52 wins and only 5 losses.

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