Novak Djokovic’s former coach Nikola Pilic was furious after learning of the Wimbledon decision, as he wonders what Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev have to do with what Russia is doing in Ukraine. Last week, Wimbledon announced that Russian and Belarusian players will not be allowed to compete at Wimbledon. Some believe that the UK government pushed the initiative to ban Russian and Belarusian players and that Wimbledon organizers finally agreed to make that decision. Pilic, runner-up at the French Open in 1973, said he would be curious to see what would happen if other players decided to boycott Wimbledon. “Boris Johnson is crazy! Rublev and Medvedev have nothing to do with Putin, they just want to play tennis like everyone else. Politics has gotten too involved in sport and I think this situation could be very similar to 1973. In the sense that someone could say: ‘if these tennis players don’t play, neither do we’ and, at that point, I would be curious to see what Wimbledon’s reaction would be,” Pilic said. Following the Belgrade final, Pilic took part in a special on-court ceremony organized by Djokovic. As Pilic walked onto the court, Djokovic called him his tennis player father. After sharing a hug, Djokovic handed Pilic a box with a gift. Asked about the Wimbledon decision, Djokovic also said that he does not support Russian players being sanctioned for something they have no control over.
Eubanks speaks about Nole Djokovic
American tennis player Christopher Eubanks is of the opinion that Novak Djokovic is finding his form again and could be “really scary” in the coming weeks. “I’m starting to see the sparks of the Novak of last year because Novak’s last year was incredible,” Eubanks said. “Novak’s year last year was one of the greatest years a tennis player has ever put together, one match short of a Calendar Slam, it’s absolutely incredible. But, like you said, the way the year started off, with the way that year started off, he hasn’t been playing many matches, just practicing. It’s very, very tough to replicate match-play situations in practice. I think Novak is finding his form and if he contines this, he’s going to be really, really scary in the next few weeks,” Eubanks concluded. Wimbledon has been on the news for the last week or so regarding the controversy surrounding the ban on Russian and Belarusian players. Now, they have also made a major announcement that would make many players on the tour pretty happy, particularly Novak Djokovic.