Ivan Ljubicic on Roger Federer: "He is my first, second and third priority"
Ivan Ljubicic has been part of Roger Federer's coaching team since 2016. The native of Bosnia speaks to the Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeiger about his collaboration with the 20-time Grand Slam champion and his plans for the time when the Swiss will no longer be on the tour as a player.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Mar 08, 2020, 06:32 pm
No question, the constant in Roger Federer's coaching staff bears the name Severin Lüthi. His compatriot has been on the side of Roger Federer for sixteen years now, accompanying the Swiss to all tournaments on the ATP tour. In 2009 Lüthi was Federer's sole coach for one season, but most of the time the Swiss Davis Cup captain had a second coach at his side. Ivan Ljubicic, former number three in the world, has held this position since 2016.
Roger Federer top priority
The Croatian has been rather taciturn to the media since working with Roger Federer, but now Ljubicic spoke to the Swiss daily newspaper about spending time with the "Maestro": "He is my first, second and third priority. I stand for him for 52 weeks a year, and it will stay that way as long as he wants to continue playing. " For Ljubicic, tennis is his greatest passion, his first love, something that he can never get enough of. But also a key that opened many doors in his life: "I am grateful for the opportunities that this gave me and none was greater than the privilege of working with Roger," said the 40-year-old, the three of his 16 duels with Federer.
Roger Federer and the Croat share the same passion, the same attitude - that is what makes the collaboration so satisfying and entertaining, Ljubicic continued. Roger Federer also speaks very highly of the Croatian, always emphasizing the harmony of the cooperation: "It is important that it fits the entire organization and also my family life," said Federer in Melbourne earlier this year. The relationship between long-term companion Severin Lüthi and Ivan Ljubicic also fits: "It is important that they also respect each other," said Federer. Ljubicic takes the same line: "We have a good time with each other, and it's valuable because we spend a lot of time together."
At the moment, the time the three are spending together will inevitably be limited: Roger Federer announced at the end of February that he had undergone knee surgery and would therefore have to take a long break . This does not prevent Ivan Ljubicic from paying a visit to his protégé and following his rehab closely: "The rehab is going great, I hope that I'll be back on the pitch with him soon," the 10-time tournament winner assured.
Ljubicic plans for the future
A comeback of the now 38-year-old Federer is therefore out of the question of how long his career will take, but has long given room for speculation. In any case, Ivan Ljubicic has already carefully considered what his future will look like after Federer's active time. The Croatian will not turn his back on tennis, Ljubicic wants to be available to young players as a mentor to help them on their way to a successful career. According to Ljubicic, this idea arose because he had little or no support even in his active time and had made some mistakes when trying to find out everything himself.
Ivan Ljubicic is already the founder of the two agencies LJ Sports Group and Ljubicic LLC, with which Borna Coric works together. Roger Federer's trainer will continue to work for a long time beyond working with the Maestro, that's for sure. Merely coaching another player after Roger Federer "could not imagine Ljubicic at the moment."