Overview

• The Croatian Tennis Federation said Pilić died Monday in Opatija at age 86, while some outlets cited Rijeka; dpa confirmed the death to German media.
• As captain and adviser he uniquely won the Davis Cup with three nations: Germany (1988, 1989, 1993), Croatia (2005) and Serbia (2010).
• He mentored Novak Djokovic during formative years at his Munich-area academy, where the future No. 1 trained for several years as a teenager.
• As a player he reached the 1973 French Open final, won the 1970 US Open doubles title and attained a career-high ranking of world No. 6.
• Former German Davis Cup player Carl-Uwe Steeb praised him as the country’s greatest coach and said the news was a shock after speaking with him on his recent birthday.