“In him I saw a component that in my life I have never seen in other players, and I was alongside Boris Becker, Michael Stich or Goran Ivanišević.” – Nikola Pilić on Novak Djokovic

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Djokovic at a practice session ahead of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship

Novak Djokovic‘s game has always drawn incredible praise from his peers and from former players as the Serb has one of the most well-rounded games in the history of the sport.

Speaking about Djokovic’s ability on court to UBITENNIS was former Croatian tennis player Nikola Pilić, who lavished praise about the way Novak Djokovic played tennis and drew comparisons to the likes of Boris Becker and Goran Ivanišević as Pilić believes that the Serb has something not even Becker or Ivanišević had during their time. Pilić, in an interview, said:

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“Novak is a formidable player. Right now I can’t say if he’s number one, three, eleven or seventeen, but he’s definitely a special player. In him I saw a component that in my life I have never seen in other players, and I was alongside Boris Becker, Michael Stich or Goran Ivanišević. Novak, however, had something more than the others. He always had a physical form that allowed him to stay six hours at the camp without getting tired: this is incredible.”

“He has always said that he does not want to get vaccinated.” – Pilić commends the character shown by Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic in action at the 2022 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters

Novak Djokovic has had a stop-start 2022 thus far as his decision to not get the COVID-19 vaccination led to uncertainty and barred entry in some events. However, he is seemingly back in the flow of things as the Serb reached the final of his home tournament in Belgrade, where he lost to Andrey Rublev in three sets.

Nikola Pilić spoke about how he respects Novak Djokovic’s decision not to get vaccinated, but hopes that the episode in Australia with regards to the Serbian being deported from Down Under doesn’t occur again. Pilić said:

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“As for the vaccine, he has a very strong character: if he wants to do something (or does not want in this case), it is difficult to move him from his position. He has always said that he does not want to get vaccinated, this is his character and his idea. For me, however, it is a pity, no one could have known that Covid would come. In any case, what happened in Australia is something I don’t want to see with any player anymore: it is not possible that a tennis player who has won the Australian Open nine times is not played.”

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