The figure of Novak Djokovic continues to generate sympathy and antipathy in equal measure. While many charge at the Serb for his character and for some of his quirks, other tennis figures consider that Djokovic deserves a treatment similar to that received by tennis players like Rafa Nadal or Roger Federer.
The latest to join this point of view was Nikola Pilic, one of Djokovic's first coaches in his career. In an interview with Croatian media Vecernji List, The former tennis player believes that the treatment of Djokovic is due to the fact that a young Serbian boy has called into question the dominance of the West in tennis, while comparing a situation for which Djokovic was singled out and for which he believes that Federer is not I would have punished him. “I think his success has hurt the West in a different way. To understand each other, the level that Djokovic has reached is only reserved for tennis players from the West. And it turns out that a boy comes from a small country and dominates the world of tennis. If Roger Federer had done what Djokovic did at the 2020 US Open, he would not have been disqualified. The West has a problem with Djokovic being the best. “
The Croatian coach affirms that it was not until the conquest of Wimbledon this year that he considered Djokovic as the best in history, “Djokovic is phenomenal, he works a lot, I remember that the Serbian journalists assaulted me in 2019 to say that Novak he was the best, he didn't want to say until he won Wimbledon this year. The day he did it, I took a thorough and thorough look at the numbers. Novak has the same Grand Slam number as Nadal and Federer, improves both in the face-to-face and has also spent 350 weeks as the leader of the ranking. “
Pilic also confessed that for him Djokovic is the best of all time and ensures that this statement is made objectively and based on the numbers despite his past as a Serbian coach. “Djokovic has been the tennis player who has won the most Masters, the only tennis player to win every Grand Slam at least twice and at one point he reached 17,000 ATP points, adding more than Murray, Nadal and Federer combined. I'm not being subjective: Novak Djokovic is the best of all time. “
Finally Pilic also wanted to highlight Djokovic's commitment to causes outside of tennis through humanitarian actions and his foundation. “Novak had never been to Bergamo in his life and donated one million euros. He has renovated or built 437 nurseries and has invested between 8 and 9 million euros in humanitarian activities.”