Roger Federer's former coach gets top job at the French Tennis Federation

Roger Federer's former coach, Ivan Ljubicic, has been roped in by the French Tennis Federation (Fédération française de Tennis or FFT) to help improve French tennis.

The former World No. 3 has been appointed the director of the 'Ambition 2024' program, where he will be responsible for supervising and improving the quality of the over-14 national players. Ljubicic will be working closely with Nicolas Escude, Paul-Henri Mathieu, and Pauline Parmentier in his new role, which begins on January 15, 2023.

Ljubicic, of course, is no longer Federer's coach given the Swiss legend retired from tennis in September this year. As such, he will be free to devote all his time and energy to his new position, which will begin with a three-month trip to France to assess the current situation of French tennis.

Gilles Moretton, president of the FFT, believes the Grand Slam-winning coach's attention to detail and winning mentality will be hugely beneficial for young French players.

"His approach to tennis, focused on performance, at all times and down to the smallest detail, is driven by this culture of winning that we want to instil in our French hopefuls. All this without ever turning away from the essential human values that the Federation shares," Gilles Moretton said in a press release.

The 'Ambition 2024' program has primarily been created for two reasons, with the main one being France's hopes of doing well in tennis at their home Olympics in 2024. The program also aims to ensure that France produces better players in larger numbers in light of their severe under-representation in the upper echelons of both men's and women's tennis. No French player except Caroline Garcia (World No. 4) finds themselves in the top 30 on either the men's or women's side.

Meanwhile, Ljubicic expressed his delight at joining hands with the FFT to help develop French talent. He believes France has what it takes to produce tennis champions under the right guidance.

"I am very happy to join the French Tennis Federation, one of the federations in the world that devotes the most resources to developing the potential of its young people. France has a very rich, very promising breeding ground, and I put my experience at the service of this new challenge with total commitment and a strong desire to share the values that forge champions," said the Croat.

Ivan Ljubicic is credited for sparking a late renaissance in Roger Federer's career

Roger Federer after winning the 2017 Australian Open

Roger Federer had won only one Slam (Wimbledon 2012) in five years when he appointed Ivan Ljubicic as his coach towards the end of 2015. At 34 years of age, many expected the Swiss to fade away without adding to his tally.

In stepped Ljubicic, who not only guided the Swiss to three Grand Slam victories (Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2017, and the Australian Open in 2018) but also helped him get back to the No. 1 position in 2018.

The 41-year-old was all but ruled out of winning any Slams after suffering a torn meniscus during the 2016 season. But he set the tour on fire in 2017, winning the Australian Open by beating Rafael Nadal in a thrilling five-set contest in the final.

He won a total of seven titles that year, including Wimbledon, and finished the year with a whopping 54-5 win-loss record. It was Federer's statistically most successful season in over a decade, highlighting Ljubicic's impressive coaching ability.