Former world No.3 Ivan Ljubicic has insisted that working with Roger Federer remains his ‘first priority’ as the 20-time grand slam champion takes a short break from the sport following knee surgery.
Ljubicic, who is just two years older than the Swiss maestro, has been a member of Federer’s coaching team since 2016. He swiftly found his footing in the world of tennis management shortly after retiring from the tour in 2012. 12 months after stepping away from the sport he first coached Milos Raonic and was Tomas Berdych’s manager for a brief period.
The main focus for Ljubicic at present is working with current world No.4 Federer along with fellow coach Severin Lüthi. He has overseen his player triumph at the Australian Open twice (2017 and 2018) as well as the 2017 Wimbledon championships.
“He is my first, second and third priority. I am available for 52 weeks a year, and it will remain so as long as he wants to continue playing,” The Croatian said during a brief interview with Tages-Anzeiger.
The two have known each other for many years and were once rivals on the tour. Between 2000-2010 they locked horns 16 times on the tour with Federer winning 13 of those meetings. Although Ljubicic did manage to defeat him on Swiss territory twice in 2001 (Gstaad) and 2003 (Basel).
“I am grateful for the opportunities that this (sport) has given me and none was greater than the privilege of working with Roger,” he said.
Besides his coaching role, the former French Open semi-finalist is involved in plenty of other ventures related to tennis. He is the founder of the agencies LJ Sports Group and Ljubicic LLC. His clients include players such as Borna Coric, Marta Kostyuk and Zhizhen Zhang. He is also an occasional commentator for Sky Italia, which he has done on and off since 2012.
It remains to be seen how much longer Federer will continue playing on the tour. Last month the 38-year-old confirmed that he has undergone knee surgery on the advice of medical professionals. A decision that has put him out of action until at least June when the tour switches to grass. Ljubicic was asked in December how much longer his player will continue playing, but even he is unsure.
“I don´t know how long Roger will be on the tour. That is a question for him. I´m just happy to have him so motivated. He just loves playing tennis. Tennis is our life.“ He told reporters at the Diriyah Tennis Cup.
Federer’s next tournament is set to be the Halle Open. The tournament will get underway on June 15th.
