Top coach opens up on Roger Federer's attitude

11/15/2024 01:00 PM

Roger Federer's career has been one of the most incredible in the history of sport. His legacy goes far beyond his numerous victories on the tennis court, which have made him one of the best players ever. The former world No. 1 had an impact on fans that is unparalleled and is still much loved today in every corner of the planet.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion left the professional tour in 2022, when he played his last match at the Laver Cup at London's O2 Arena alongside his eternal rival Rafael Nadal. That iconic moment has remained engraved in the minds of all fans, as well as Roger and Rafa's tears at the end of the match.

The legend from Basel had several difficulties in the last years of his career, as his body began to send him very clear signals. After the 2020 Australian Open, his knee began to show problems, which forced Federer to undergo several surgeries to try to solve the problem. When he realized that his knee would no longer be healthy, the Swiss made the decision to end his amazing career.

Ivan Ljubicic was Federer's coach along with Severin Luthi in the latter part of his career. 'Ljubo' was instrumental in enabling the King to win three more Major titles between 2017 and 2018. The former Swiss champion had not won a Grand Slam title since the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, before claiming a memorable victory at the 2017 Australian Open.

That triumph is certainly one of the most special in Roger's career, perhaps the most unexpected, considering that the Swiss Maestro had missed more than half the season in 2016. Along with Ljubicic, Federer also won the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and the 2018 Australian Open.

In a recent interview with Eurosport, Ivan reflected on King Roger’s attitude on and off the court: “The details, the excellence of everything he did. Preparing for interviews, his warm-ups, the dinners. All the things he did, he did with great application. There were many days when I didn’t know what to say because he was perfect. We’ve also had some difficult times mentally, because everyone thinks that everything is easy for Roger, but we’ve had some complicated times.”

The former world No. 1 came very close to clinching his 21st Major title at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, but failed to convert two match points against Novak Djokovic in the final.

Ljubicic recalled that very painful loss: “We were only briefly in the locker-room because he went to the press conference. We went home afterwards and ended up celebrating that final, being in the finals. Of course, in the beginning the atmosphere was not too bright, but we managed to turn it into a positive moment. How? You call some people, you call your friends, you play some music – it was a bit “fake it till you make it”, but it ended up being a great atmosphere.”

He added: ”I mean, it was not a tragedy of epic proportions, but it was a big shame because he played magnificently and I was proud of him as a coach. He was close, but you win some, you lose some. We moved on. In the end, it turned out to be his last big opportunity to win a Slam, but we did not know that at the time – we believed that we would have one more chance.”

The former Swiss champion played better than Djokovic for most of that final and had plenty of chances to lift the trophy. However, the Serbian champion made the difference in the decisive moments and inflicted one of the most painful defeats of his entire career on Roger. That iconic match also had a major impact on the all-time Grand Slam ranking, because Federer would win one more Major title and Nole one less.

It is just that someone had to win – they kept each other going until the very end” – Ljubo explained.

“If it was some other sport, it would have been a draw or a tie. This way, Novak won. The thing I was most sad about is that Roger played phenomenally – two sets he won, he did so easily, and in the other three he was either the better player or he was there. But OK, throughout his career he had won a lot of matches where he was not at his best, so we cannot complain” – he concluded.

Federer played a really sensational tournament and no one could have imagined that it would be his last real chance to win a Grand Slam title.