Died tennis player through whom Wimbledon-1973 broke out

At the age of 86, a Croatian tennis player and coach Nicola Pylych died in Rijac, who left a significant mark in tennis history.

The greatest achievements of Pilich were the winning of the US-1970 Open Championships, together with Pierre Barthesis and the final “Rolan Harros” -1973, where he gave way to Elija Nastas. In the same year, the Yugoslav tennis player became the central figure of the scandal, which ended with the widespread boycott of Wimbledon and in fact determined the further development of the APR.

In 1973, Nicholas Pilich was at the center of one of the largest tennis scandals. The Yugoslav Federation insisted on his participation in the Davis Cup match, but the tennis player decided to go to the commercial tournament in Montreal with a much higher prize fund. This step was regarded as a refusal to play for the national team.

The International Tennis Federation (ILTF) applied a strict punishment – disqualified Pylych and forbade him to perform in all tournaments under his auspices, including Wimbledon.

The decision provoked a sharp protest among players. The newly created professional tennis association (ATP), which was then formed as a power in world tennis, perceived it as a threat to the rights of players. In response, ATP announced a boycott of Wimbledon-1973. The tournament of that year lost almost all leading tennis players: 79 professionals refused to participate.

This incident has become a turning point in the relationship between players and tennis governing bodies. He enshrined the role of ATP as an organization representing the interests of athletes and significantly influenced the structure of a professional tour.

The next year, the disqualification was removed, and Pylych returned to the Yugoslavia national team, for which he advocated until 1977.

After his career, Pylych led Germany three times to the Victory in Davis Cup (1988, 1989, 1993), and also won this trophy with Croatia (2005) and Serbia (2010). Among his pupils are Boris Becker, Michael Stih, Goran Ivanyshevich and Novak Dzhokovich.

He has been working at his own academy in Germany in recent decades.