The 29-year-old achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 16 in May 2019 and has always posed a threat for any player who has come up against him.
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Nikoloz Basilashvili has kept the Georgian flag flying high by frequently performing at the top level in various international tournaments. The 29-year-old achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 16 in May 2019 and has always posed a threat for any player who has come up against him. Besides the trophies Basilashvili has won, the Georgian also famously reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final at Indian Wells last year. Started playing tennis at age five, he can also speak Russian and English apart from his native language.
Basilashvili might not have played at any Grand Slams during his junior career, but his talent and potential were there for everyone to see. In late 2006, Basilashvili competed in his first ITF Junior Circuit tournament, the G2 Jerry Simmons Tournament. However, he was eliminated in the first round of qualifying. It was in 2008, the Georgian won his only junior title, the G4 Tennis Express tournament by beating Raymond Sarmiento in three sets.
He qualified for his first Grand Slam tournament – Roland Garros – in 2015, but lost in the first round to Thanasi Kokkinakis. Later that year, he qualified for Wimbledon and defeated Facundo Bagnis and 15th seed Feliciano Lopez, advancing to the third round of a major for the first time in his career. Basilashvili also made it to the final Grand Slam of the year – US Open – but lost in the first round against Feliciano Lopez.
In the past, Jan de Witt was the mentor to Nikoloz Basilashvili. Prior to Jan de Witt, Nikoloz lacked a full-time coach due to personal concerns. A scandal that occurred in 2020 had a negative impact on Nikoloz’s career. In 2019, after deciding to divorce his ex-wife Neka Dorakashvili, Nikoloz was given custody of their 4-year-old son. After Neka reported Nikoloz Basilashvili for domestic abuse, the Georgian was detained on May 24, 2020, but was later released on bail with a requirement to pay 100,000 GEL.
“If the player feels you are scared to lose your job, then you have lost already. I have a reputation that has been built up over 20 years. That is if I don’t feel like working with a player then I stop at that moment. I don’t care how much it is going to cost me.” said Jan De Witt.
