Novak Djokovic has expressed his grief at the recent death of his former coach Jovan Lilic. Lilic achieved numerous milestones in his career, including at the European Championships, and played a crucial role as coach in Serbia’s 2010 Davis Cup victory, where Novak Djokovic was a key team member.

He also coached the Serbian team at the Beijing Olympics, where Djokovic won his first Olympic bronze medal. The Tennis Federation of Serbia announced the unfortunate update (via Telegraf).

“Jovan is survived by generations of tennis players whom he led as a personal and club coach. He was the national team coach in the U18 category, as well as the coach of the Davis Cup team of Serbia.”

“His contribution to the development of tennis in Serbia cannot be overestimated. Our sympathies are with the Lilic family. The details regarding the funeral will be announced later.”

24-time major champion Djokovic later expressed his sorrow sharing the news on his Instagram story.

“My spec (special) Naz,” he wrote (translated from Serbian).

Notably, the unfortunate news comes just as Djokovic is about to begin his campaign at the Shanghai Masters.

Novak Djokovic will next compete at the 2024 Shanghai Masters as the fourth seed, marking his first appearance on tour since his third round exit at the US Open in August. Moreover, he will compete at the Shanghai event for the first time since 2019.

The World No. 4 received a first round bye for the tournament and will begin his campaign against Alex Michelsen or home favorite Yunchaokete Bu in the second round. Michelsen’s most recent appearance was at the Japan Open, where he reached the quarterfinals, while Bu last competed at the China Open, where he exited in the semifinals.

In his pre-event press conference, Djokovic expressed his delight at returning to China after five years, describing it as one of the happiest places in his career.

“It feels great. I missed it. It’s been a while, as you said, five years, coming back to, honestly, one of the happiest places I’ve had in my career, a place, a country where I had plenty of success on the tennis courts, Beijing and Shanghai, many titles won, great memories,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic, who has endured a title-less season so far, will look to win his fifth Shanghai Masters title this year.