H2H data updated: 2026-09-05 00:00 UTC

John Newcombe vs Nikola Pilic H2H: 20-6

John Newcombe holds a 20–6 lead over Nikola Pilic in their ATP head-to-head. Across 26 main-draw meetings, John Newcombe leads 8–2 on carpet and 5–3 on grass. Most recently, John Newcombe won the 1974 Wimbledon round of 32 6-2 7-5 7-5.

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John Newcombe
AUS Age 82 Right-Handed 183 cm / 6'0"
H2H
20 – 6
26 main draw meetings
Nikola Pilic
CRO Left-Handed 191 cm / 6'3"

H2H Match Log

PlayerScorePlayerMatch DataDateRoundTournamentCategorySurface
John Newcombe 6-2 7-5 7-5 Nikola Pilic Match data Jun 30, 1974* R32 Wimbledon Grand Slam Grass
John Newcombe 6-4 6-4 Nikola Pilic Match data Aug 25, 1973* R16 Canadian Open ATP 500 Clay
John Newcombe 6-4 4-6 6-1 Nikola Pilic Match data Aug 10, 1973* QF Louisville ATP 250 Clay
Nikola Pilic 6-2 6-4 John Newcombe Match data Nov 3, 1972* QF Essen Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 6-3 6-3 Nikola Pilic Match data Jul 7, 1972* F St. Louis Wct ATP 250 Carpet
Nikola Pilic 9-8 6-4 John Newcombe Match data Jun 10, 1971* R32 Bristol ATP 250 Grass
John Newcombe 6-4 6-4 Nikola Pilic Match data May 1, 1971* R32 Chicago Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 6-3 6-3 Nikola Pilic Match data Jul 10, 1970* SF Newport ATP 250 Grass
Nikola Pilic 4-6 14-12 8-6 John Newcombe Match data Jun 13, 1970* SF Bristol ATP 250 Grass
John Newcombe 6-2 7-9 8-6 6-0 Nikola Pilic Match data Jun 12, 1970* SF Casablanca Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 6-3 6-1 Nikola Pilic Match data Jun 7, 1970* R16 St. Louis Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 6-2 6-3 Nikola Pilic Match data Jan 4, 1970 RR Australian Round Robin ATP 250 Grass
John Newcombe 12-10 6-4 4-6 7-5 Nikola Pilic Match data Jun 25, 1969* R128 Wimbledon Grand Slam Grass
John Newcombe 11-9 Nikola Pilic Match data Oct 14, 1968* SF East London Wct ATP 250 Hard
John Newcombe 6-4 6-2 Nikola Pilic Match data Oct 1, 1968* QF Pretoria Wct ATP 250 Clay
John Newcombe 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 Nikola Pilic Match data Aug 18, 1968* SF Hamburg Open ATP 250 Clay
John Newcombe 21-13 12-21 21-19 Nikola Pilic Match data Aug 18, 1968* BR Newport Wct ATP 250 Grass
Nikola Pilic 21-14 21-16 John Newcombe Match data Aug 12, 1968 RR Newport Wct ATP 250 Grass
John Newcombe 13-11 6-3 Nikola Pilic Match data Aug 6, 1968* QF Cannes Wct ATP 250 Hard
Nikola Pilic 6-1 6-4 1-6 6-4 John Newcombe Match data Jul 26, 1968 RR Bastad Wct ATP 250 Clay
John Newcombe 31-20 31-27 Nikola Pilic Match data May 9, 1968* SF Minneapolis Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 31-17 31-17 Nikola Pilic Match data Apr 26, 1968* F Evansville Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 31-22 Nikola Pilic Match data Apr 6, 1968* QF Bakersfield Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 31-28 31-27 Nikola Pilic Match data Feb 16, 1968 RR New Orleans Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 31-28 Nikola Pilic Match data Feb 13, 1968* QF Shreveport Wct ATP 250 Hard
Nikola Pilic 27-31 31-22 John Newcombe Match data Feb 13, 1968 RR Houston Wct ATP 250 Carpet

Estimated match date where the exact historical date is unavailable. Arrows show an edition's recorded category and documented modern equivalent; unresolved editions keep their recorded category. Asterisked totals include editions mapped from documented historical predecessor categories. Mapping details.

Career Comparison

Player Current Peak Pts Elo W L Win % GS 1000 including documented historical predecessor categories Finals 500 including documented historical predecessor categories 250 including documented historical predecessor categories Titles
John Newcombe #826 #1 0 2,203 544 220 71.2% 5 0 0 0 33 38
Nikola Pilic #284 #12 0 1,950 301 249 54.7% 0 0 0 0 5 5

Career Progression by Age

Seasons are aligned by the age each player spent most of that calendar year. GS and Titles are cumulative career totals through that season.

Age John Newcombe Nikola Pilic
YrW-LWin %RankEloGSTitles YrW-LWin %RankEloGSTitles
24 1968 70–37 65.4% — 1,819 0 6 — — — — — — —
25 1969 64–26 71.1% — 1,916 0 8 — — — — — — —
26 1970 65–23 73.9% — 2,035 1 12 — — — — — — —
27 1971 61–18 77.2% — 2,085 2 18 — — — — — — —
28 1972 69–22 75.8% — 2,130 2 25 1968 42–46 47.7% — 1,636 0 0
29 1973 59–19 75.6% #2 2,056 4 29 1969 27–24 52.9% — 1,767 0 1
30 1974 81–16 83.5% #2 2,119 4 37 1970 47–31 60.3% — 1,887 0 2
31 1975 17–8 68.0% #20 2,017 5 38 1971 39–31 55.7% — 1,842 0 3
32 1976 21–17 55.3% #21 1,832 5 38 1972 34–28 54.8% — 1,891 0 4
33 1977 5–6 45.5% #185 1,838 5 38 1973 44–27 62.0% #15 1,841 0 4
34 1978 28–22 56.0% #24 1,824 5 38 1974 22–12 64.7% #32 1,904 0 4
35 1979 4–3 57.1% #226 1,839 5 38 1975 20–15 57.1% #50 1,871 0 5
36 1980 0–2 0.0% — 1,807 5 38 1976 13–14 48.1% #68 1,752 0 5
37 1981 0–1 0.0% — 1,799 5 38 1977 11–14 44.0% #82 1,697 0 5
38 — — — — — — — 1978 2–7 22.2% #284 1,620 0 5

Surface Results by Age

Seasons are aligned by the age each player spent most of that calendar year. Results cover completed main-draw matches. Bold green marks the higher win percentage when both players have at least 5 matches on that surface at the aligned age.

Age John Newcombe Nikola Pilic
Yr HardClayGrassCarpet Yr HardClayGrassCarpet
W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win %
24 1968 18 7 25 72.0% 18 4 22 81.8% 15 7 22 68.2% 19 19 38 50.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
25 1969 5 4 9 55.6% 27 7 34 79.4% 25 7 32 78.1% 7 8 15 46.7% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
26 1970 17 8 25 68.0% 2 1 3 66.7% 37 7 44 84.1% 9 7 16 56.3% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
27 1971 10 5 15 66.7% 22 6 28 78.6% 12 4 16 75.0% 17 3 20 85.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
28 1972 16 3 19 84.2% 13 5 18 72.2% 4 2 6 66.7% 36 12 48 75.0% 1968 7 11 18 38.9% 9 6 15 60.0% 10 9 19 52.6% 16 20 36 44.4%
29 1973 14 4 18 77.8% 17 7 24 70.8% 18 2 20 90.0% 10 6 16 62.5% 1969 6 4 10 60.0% 9 10 19 47.4% 9 6 15 60.0% 3 4 7 42.9%
30 1974 43 3 46 93.5% 10 4 14 71.4% 18 8 26 69.2% 10 1 11 90.9% 1970 5 6 11 45.5% 17 7 24 70.8% 20 11 31 64.5% 5 7 12 41.7%
31 1975 5 5 10 50.0% 3 1 4 75.0% 6 0 6 100.0% 3 2 5 60.0% 1971 13 7 20 65.0% 7 10 17 41.2% 10 4 14 71.4% 9 10 19 47.4%
32 1976 7 7 14 50.0% 4 3 7 57.1% 7 2 9 77.8% 3 5 8 37.5% 1972 11 9 20 55.0% 6 5 11 54.5% 2 1 3 66.7% 15 13 28 53.6%
33 1977 1 2 3 33.3% 0 1 1 0.0% 4 3 7 57.1% — — — — 1973 3 5 8 37.5% 26 13 39 66.7% 4 1 5 80.0% 11 8 19 57.9%
34 1978 5 4 9 55.6% 7 8 15 46.7% 8 3 11 72.7% 8 7 15 53.3% 1974 2 2 4 50.0% 0 1 1 0.0% 2 1 3 66.7% 18 8 26 69.2%
35 1979 4 3 7 57.1% — — — — — — — — — — — — 1975 — — — — 14 7 21 66.7% 0 1 1 0.0% 6 7 13 46.2%
36 1980 0 2 2 0.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — 1976 0 1 1 0.0% 7 10 17 41.2% 5 2 7 71.4% 1 1 2 50.0%
37 1981 0 1 1 0.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — 1977 1 1 2 50.0% 8 10 18 44.4% 2 1 3 66.7% 0 2 2 0.0%
38 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1978 — — — — 2 7 9 22.2% — — — — — — — —
Career — 145 58 203 71.4% 123 47 170 72.4% 154 45 199 77.4% 122 70 192 63.5% — 48 46 94 51.1% 105 86 191 55.0% 64 37 101 63.4% 84 80 164 51.2%

Advanced Statistics Comparison by Age

Seasons are aligned by the age each player spent most of that calendar year. Metrics are precomputed from eligible main-draw results; point-stat values use the available detailed sample. Bold green marks the stronger value when both underlying samples are sufficient. Lower is better for Schedule because a negative value means a tougher schedule. Career Schedule is normalized per 100 matches.

Age John Newcombe Nikola Pilic
Yr Elo P+ Serve+ Return+ PD TPW% Hard Elo Clay Elo Grass Elo Set Win % Set Margin Dec. Set Tiebreak Pressure+ Schedule Yr Elo P+ Serve+ Return+ PD TPW% Hard Elo Clay Elo Grass Elo Set Win % Set Margin Dec. Set Tiebreak Pressure+ Schedule
24 1968 1819 120.5 — — — — -93 +43 -86 60.5% +1.05 16–14 (53%) — — +1.04 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
25 1969 1916 144.5 — — — — -167 +98 +137 66.0% +1.08 16–9 (64%) — — -3.03 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
26 1970 2035 152.0 — — — — -68 -52 +203 66.8% +1.17 17–9 (65%) 4–4 (50%) 104.8 -2.09 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
27 1971 2086 160.2 — — — — +48 -10 +108 70.1% +1.06 15–5 (75%) 18–9 (67%) 111.2 -5.69 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
28 1972 2131 156.8 — — — — +83 -60 -24 72.1% +1.41 13–9 (59%) 20–12 (63%) 101.6 -3.97 1968 1636 111.3 — — — — -151 -16 -31 47.3% -0.36 10–12 (45%) — — -1.40
29 1973 2056 152.9 — — — — +49 -63 +159 70.8% +1.34 14–8 (64%) 22–13 (63%) 101.7 +0.26 1969 1768 124.1 — — — — -72 -209 -64 53.7% +0.31 8–9 (47%) 1–0 — -0.25
30 1974 2120 157.1 — — — — +217 -156 +7 77.7% +1.78 13–3 (81%) 21–10 (68%) 107.9 +0.43 1970 1888 148.2 — — — — -193 -47 +36 58.2% +0.88 14–13 (52%) 5–4 (56%) 105.5 -3.73
31 1975 2017 140.1 — — — — +109 -67 +183 61.1% +0.76 8–4 (67%) 3–5 (38%) 96.7 -0.06 1971 1842 144.2 — — — — -19 -83 +111 58.7% +0.69 8–5 (62%) 12–13 (48%) 102.1 -3.55
32 1976 1833 148.7 — — — — +121 +46 +317 53.9% +0.25 5–3 (63%) 12–7 (63%) 100.4 -0.96 1972 1892 147.9 — — — — -16 -78 +47 53.5% +0.29 7–7 (50%) 16–18 (47%) 98.7 -5.81
33 1977 1839 137.4 — — — — +69 — +255 54.8% +0.19 1–3 (25%) 3–2 (60%) 97.3 -1.06 1973 1841 145.7 — — — — -61 +43 +118 60.6% +0.80 10–8 (56%) 15–13 (54%) 98.1 -3.46
34 1978 1825 147.7 — — — — +89 -83 +249 51.7% +0.12 10–4 (71%) 8–6 (57%) 103.6 -2.37 1974 1905 139.1 — — — — -6 — +73 56.0% +0.54 11–3 (79%) 5–8 (38%) 105.7 -1.38
35 1979 1840 126.6 — — — — +74 — — 53.3% -0.07 1–0 — — -1.21 1975 1872 141.1 — — — — -40 +45 — 57.6% +0.42 7–6 (54%) 4–3 (57%) 99.8 -0.41
36 1980 1807 107.0 — — — — — — — 0.0% -2.75 — 0–1 — -0.42 1976 1752 126.5 — — — — +23 +27 +201 49.3% -0.20 4–3 (57%) 2–5 (29%) 95.7 -0.02
37 1981 1799 108.5 — — — — — — — 0.0% -3.50 — — — -0.45 1977 1698 136.2 — — — — +16 +18 +284 48.4% +0.05 6–5 (55%) 2–5 (29%) 96.7 -0.64
38 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1978 1620 117.9 — — — — — +19 — 34.6% -0.54 1–3 (25%) 1–4 (20%) 95.2 +0.12
Career — 2204 153.9 — — — — +40 -13 +125 66.3% +1.08 129–71 (65%) 111–69 (62%) 108.3 -2.59 — 1950 142.6 — — — — -68 -21 +43 54.6% +0.39 86–74 (54%) 63–73 (46%) 98.1 -3.78

Career Rivalries

Each player's five most-played main-draw opponents. The current matchup is highlighted when it appears in a player's top five.