BELGRADE:

Croatian tennis legend Nikola Pilic, who captained multiple Davis Cup-winning sides and was an early mentor to , has died at the age of 87, the country's tennis association announced on Tuesday.

"One of the greatest players and coaches Croatian tennis has ever had," died on Monday in the western Croatian town of Opatija, the association reported in a statement.

Pilic began his career in Split in 1953 and, just four years later, was representing the Yugoslav youth national team.

He went on to win the Yugoslav Championship five times in singles (1962, 1963, 1964, 1966 and 1967), seven times in doubles and once in mixed doubles.

Pilic's greatest individual achievement came in 1973, when he reached the final of the French Open, falling to Ilie Nastase.

He won the US Open double

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