It goes without saying that Novak Djokovic has plenty to reflect on. Over two decades of brilliance. Twenty-four Grand Slams. A staggering 101 tour titles. A record 428 weeks as world No. 1. Thirteen different years at the top. And eight year-end No. 1 finishes, another all-time mark. That isn’t just impressive; that’s relentless hard work. Still, when the dust finally settles, is that what he’ll remember most?

Not quite! In his chat with Piers Morgan earlier this month, Djokovic faced the question, “How would you like to be remembered?” He’s made it clear he doesn’t plan to retire soon, but the question made him pause. His answer turned out to be far more grounded than expected.

Recalling his former mentor, Nikola Pilic, who passed away on 22 September, Novak Djokovic shared an emotional reflection from attending his first funeral. “My biggest takeaway from that,” he revealed, “Other than incredible sadness and emotions that I felt, is the human connection: connections that he has left behind and established throughout his life and his career, how he touched people’s hearts.”

“The way people talked about him,” he added, “It was not about tennis and what he has achieved as a player or as a coach or who he has coached, etc. It was about who he was as a person, how he conducted himself with people, how he changed the lives of young people or anybody who he came close to, and that’s how I want to be remembered.​”

Nikola Pilic shaped talents like Novak Djokovic, Anastasija Sevastova, Ernests Gulbis, and Michael Stich at his buzzing academy near Munich, Germany. When Pilic passed, tennis greats Boris Becker, Marin Čilić, and Ivan Dodig all turned out to honor him. Djokovic felt that loss deeply yet drew lasting wisdom from it.

As Piers Morgan pressed further and asked, “So imagine a tombstone, and it says, ‘Here lies Novak Djokovic…’ what would you want it to say?” Djokovic didn’t hesitate. His reply was simple and sincere: “‘The man who touched people’s hearts.’”

Not long ago, Djokovic shared that he hopes to finish his career at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. It’s still some time away, but he’s determined to walk away after representing his country one final time. For now, he’s ended his 2025 season on a high, winning his 101st title in Greece. Yet even that triumph carried a hint of sadness, as he spoke of his ‘tennis father.’

Novak Djokovic gets emotional about his former mentor

On November 4, Djokovic kicked off his opening match at the Athens Open with a straight-set win over Alejandro Tabilo. Still, it wasn’t the only thing that he chose to celebrate after wrapping up the match! He stole the show, honoring Nikola Pilic’s legacy in a heartfelt speech.​

“It was an emotional moment,” he said, shared via the ATP website, “Considering what he meant to me and my family — privately, also professionally — he was my tennis father as I like to call him, someone that has played a fundamental, integral role in my development as a tennis player and as a human being. It was really sad news when I heard that he passed away a few months ago.”​

Novak Djokovic pulled Pilic’s academy pals onto the court. Petar Basic, Lado Chikhladze, Ana Jovanovic, Oliver Poturicek, Peter Shuster and Kostas Zaraklanis soaked up the crowd’s cheers. He and brother Djordje, the event boss, got misty-eyed during the big-screen video tribute.​

In September, the Serb dropped a raw IG post as tribute to his former coach. He gushed thanks to Pilic and Mia for son-like love at age 12. That spark turbocharged his rise, he wrote, “One day, I remember that he said he wanted to become the world no. 1; many people were laughing, but for me it wasn’t that funny. To be honest, when he came to Munich at 13, he had many shortcomings in his game, which he worked hard to improve.” Now he hopes to end his career being remembered just as his mentor was.

Still, he’s got a long way to go before he hangs up the racket. His next stop will be the 2026 Australian Open! He’ll be vying for his 25th Grand Slam and his 11th AO title. Can he nail it? We’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments below!