Following his split with Stefan Edberg, Roger Federer announced he would be taking on Croat former tennis professional Ivan Ljubicic as his coach. The 2017 season has paid great dividends, with Federer going on to win his 18th Major and the year’s first ATP Masters title at Indian Wells.
A lot of credit has also gone to Ljubicic for his role in Federer’s game plan and strategy, and he has been touted as one of the keys to the Swiss’ big return.
Here are some things you should know:
#1 Ljubicic used to coach Milos Raonic
Ljubicic defected from Raonic’s team to Federer’s at the end of 2015, with Raonic calling upon the coaching services of former World No. 1 Carlos Moya – who incidentally left the Canadian at the end of 2016 to join Rafael Nadal.
Raonic had a very strong 2015 – and a good beginning to 2016, with part of the credit to the Croat ace.
#2 He’s close friends with Novak Djokovic
The two players, who have played against each other professionally, have bonded well off the court. The older Ljubicic, like Djokovic, is a resident of Monaco, and incidentally, the two are neighbours there. At the time that Ljubicic was appointed to be Federer’s coach, Djokovic implied the change had been in order to understand his game and defeat him. “He (Ljubicic) knows my game.... and that is one of the reasons I think Roger has hired him,” he said in an interview at the time.
Interestingly, the pair only played each other once since the change – and have not faced each other since the Australian Open in 2016.
#3 He was the World No. 3
Now 38 years old – not much older than Federer himself, Ljubicic went pro in 1998 and was known as a hardcourt specialist. He broke the top 100 the following year, and by 2001 the top 30.
After a highly successful 2006 season, Ljubicic shot into the top 5, taking the World No. 3 ranking
That ranking unfortunately did not hold very long, with David Nalbandian taking that spot soon after.
#4 He has a long rivalry with Roger Federer
He might be his coach now, but Ljubicic and Federer were one-time rivals on the court – with an extremly one-sided rivalry! The two played 16 matches in total, with Federer leading their head-to-head record 13-3.
Over the course of his career, Ljubicic lost a total of four finals to Federer – and a number to his arch-rival Rafael Nadal!
#5 He is a decorated player – and holds a record!
Over the course of his 14-year career, Ljubicic, who retired in 2012, won 10 ATP titles – including the 2010 Indian Wells Masters, where he defeated Andy Roddick in straight sets. Of his 10 titles, 7 came on hard courts, which may well be an indicator as to Roger Federer’s renewed success on that surface.
But the laurels don’t stop there. Ljubicic is an Olympic medal winner, and with Mario Ancic won bronze at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Ancic and Ljubicic were not seeded at the tournament, but defeated French third seeds Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro in straight sets before losing to eventual winners Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu of Chile, they then played Indian 5th seeds Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in the bronze medal match to take home the medal.
Ljubicic, with Ancic, is part of one of only three doubles pairs in history to have defeated the Bryan Brothers, the most successful men’s doubles pair of all time, at the Davis Cup.
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