Touching message from Ivan Ljubicic: Roger Federer’s last coach
Croatian coach’s touching message for Federer
Ivan Ljubicic, Roger Federer’s coach since 2015 and the Swiss champion’s last coach, spoke to the microphones of Sky Sport 24 about the Swiss tennis legend’s now imminent retirement.
“I want to think that we have to celebrate a career, it’s not a sad moment because, anyway, he hasn’t played for more than a year now. It’s a sad moment, but of a great career, which we definitely have to celebrate. Of course, I have known this for some time, but he would like, anyway, to play the Laver Cup. Now we will see how much and how, but he has decided to say enough, because he has done everything to be able to come back and win, which is what Federer is interested in. We remember and know him as an elegant and winning player, but he is above all a winner. Roger is elegance though, meanwhile, he has won so much. When we talk about Roger, numbers are not the first thing that comes to mind. Undoubtedly, there are scary numbers but he changed the sport, he raised the bar, everybody chased him, Nadal, Djokovic, even Murray, who had to improve to unbelievable levels to be able to keep up with him. Let’s say he was the one who broke the ice and, then, all the others came and, as is normal, they also surpassed him with certain numbers,” the former Croatian tennis player said.
“They knew there would come a time when these four would get a little lost along the way. Roger is the oldest and it’s normal for him to retire first. What he managed to do to last this long was unthinkable a long time ago. I retired at 33 and felt old, Roger at 41. They really raised the bar in every way possible and imaginable. Everyone will be sad to see him not playing competitive tennis anymore. He said in the message that he will still play, but not in the Slams and on the Tour. He loves tennis too much to stop playing. He proved that you can win at over 40, that you can win at 36. He was the one who really changed the sport,” stressed the coach of the 20-time Slam winner.
“He was the first one to dominate for 52 weeks a year, the one who showed everyone that you can win all the time, out of 18 Slams played in a row, 17 were finals, impressive continuity. He has brought continuity, he has found beautiful tennis and he is leaving it just as beautiful, because even Alcaraz himself, who is number one in the world, plays spectacular tennis and it’s very pleasing to watch as well. He will not leave the sport, he will always be attached, he will always be doing something and he will always be inside the sport, because everything he has, besides his family, he really owes to tennis and he feels this love,” Ljubicic continued.
“The energy he has and how he thinks mentally, how he handles issues and difficult situations in life and on the court. As an opponent he was the most complicated, every time he came up with a different tactic, he never played two matches the same and it was impossible to prepare a match against him. Federer quit because his body is telling him that he can no longer be as competitive as he would like to be. He has always played for fun, to win as much as possible, never looking for a reason to quit,” the conclusion of the coach’s touching message.
