Nikola "Nikki" Špear (; 22 February 1944 – 2 December 2017), often spelled Nicola Spear in English-language media, was a Serbian tennis player and coach who represented Yugoslavia in his playing career.SPEAR, Nikki at itftennis.comNicola Spear at atpworldtour.com
Professional career Špear won the senior championship of Yugoslavia 1968, 1972, 1973 and 1975.
Between 1969 and 1975, he represented Yugoslavia in the Davis Cup, compiling a 5–9 record in singles and 3–4 in doubles, for an overall 8–13 record across seven ties.Nikki Spear: Player Profile at daviscup.com
Following his playing career, Špear worked as a tennis coach, leading the Denmark Davis Cup team, the German Fed Cup team, and the FR Yugoslavia Davis Cup team.Najbolji subotički teniser svih vremena
In addition to his coaching career, he also organised tennis events in his hometown of Subotica.Subotica.info "Među prisutnim gostima bili su proslavljeni teniser Nikola Špear i Katarina Vojnić Hajduk koja je godinama u Republičkom zavodu za međunarodnu, naučnu, prosvetnu, kulturnu i tehničku saradnju bila zadužena za kontakte sa Amerikom."
Career finals Singles: 3 (3 runner-ups) Legend Grand Slam (0–0) Tennis Masters Cup (0–0) ATP Tour (0–3)Finals by surfaceHard (0–1)Clay (0–2)Grass (0–0)Finals by settingOutdoor (0–2)Indoor (0–1)
ResultW–LDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 Mar 1970 Barranquilla, Colombia Clay Željko Franulović 7–9, 3–6, 3–6Loss 0–2 Mar 1971 Pensacola, United States Hard (i) Milan Holecek 6–4, 3–6, 3–6Loss 0–3 Feb 1975 Algiers, Algeria Clay Birger Andersson 7–5, 6–2, 0–6, 1–6, 2–6
Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up) Legend Grand Slam (0–0) Tennis Masters Cup (0–0) ATP Tour (0–1)Finals by surfaceHard (0–0)Clay (0–1)Grass (0–0)Finals by settingOutdoor (0–1)Indoor (0–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 0–1 Apr 1977 Munich, West Germany Clay John Whitlinger František Pála Balázs Taróczy 3–6, 4–6
Singles performance timeline
Tournament19651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981Win %Grand Slam tournamentsAustralian OpenAAAAAAAAAA1RAAAAAA0 / 10–10%French Open1R4R4R2R1R3R2RP21RQ12R1R1R1R1RAA0 / 1310–1148%WimbledonAA1R1R1R2R1R1RAA1R1RAAAAA0 / 81–811%US OpenAAAAAA1RAA1R2R1R1RAAAA0 / 51–517%Win–loss0–03–12–21–20–13–21–30–10–10–12–40–30–20–10–10–00–00 / 2812–2532%National representationDavis CupAAAAQFFA1RAAQFAAAAAA0 / 45–936%Win–loss0–00–00–00–00–24–40–00–20–00–01–10–00–00–00–00–00–00 / 45–936%Career statistics 19651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981CareerTournaments1123513151113132516194320146Titles / Finals0 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 0Overall win–loss0–03–12–21–32–314–134–153–105–122–1216–255–1615–191–41–30–20–070–144Win %–75%50%25%40%52%21%23%29%14%39%24%44%20%25%0%–35%Year-end rankingN/A12415392151122357312383N/ANo. 78
Records Year Record Players matched 1968 Triple bagel win (6–0, 6–0, 6–0) At least 17 players
References
External links
Nikola Špear at eurosport.com