Ivan Ljubicic has said his commitment to working with Roger Federer is ‘unquestionable’ as he confirms that he will leave coaching after their partnership ends.
The 41-year-old Croat, who has been a member of Federer’s team since 2016, has his sights set on working full-time in a new venture he has set up. He is the co-founder of the LJ Sports Group, which is an agency that focuses on ‘enabling professional athletes to focus solely on training and their performance on the field, while we take care of every other thing regarding their career.’ Among his clients are top 20 player Borna Coria and Marta Kostyuk.
“Roger will be my last coaching job. My commitment to this project after Roger is absolute,” Ljubicic told Novi List.
“But Roger and I go further, my work with him is unquestionable and there are no problems there.”
“After his career, I can dedicate myself one hundred percent to what makes me happy. Then I will be able to help the players in a way that we judge to be the best. At the moment, as far as the coaching part of the job is concerned, it’s exclusively Roger. The rest is marketing and sponsorship,” he added.
Ljubicic will have some extra time to work on his company this year after Federer pulled the plug on his 2020 season following his second knee operation. The Swiss tennis star has only played in two tournaments this year with his most recent being back in January at the Australian Open. Despite his lengthy absence from the Tour, Federer will not be spiralling down the rankings thanks to a change in the rules due to the pandemic. A players ranking position are now based on their best 18 tournament performances over the past 22 months instead of 12.
Despite the blip, Federer is determined to return to action at the start of next year when he will be 39-years-old. At present, he is the second oldest player in the top 200 on the ATP Tour after Ivo Karlovic. The last time Federer ended his season early was in 2016 where he returned to winning ways the following year by winning the Australian Open.
“Everything is under control. We are planning the next season,” coach Ljubicic commented. “It is a wish and a dream for everything to be like in 2017, but it is clear that every situation is new. Anyway, we have one positive experience so we are all positive.”
Federer currently holds the record for most Grand Slam titles at 20. Although it is possible that rival Rafael Nadal could surpass his tally in 2020 if he wins both the US Open and French Open. Meanwhile Novak Djokovic, who is the youngest of the Big Three, is closing in with 17 major titles to his name.
Regardless of what happens to Federer’s Grand Slam record, Ljubicic believes too much focus is being placed on it. Saying the current world No.4 continues to play due to his love for the sport. Federer last won a Grand Slam at the 2018 Australian Open and has only managed to reach one final (Wimbledon 2019) since then.
“Everyone is a little too focused on Grand Slam titles. They are the biggest tournaments in our sport, but they are not the only valuable thing,” he said.
“We can measure everything with them, but we’re not all crazy about Grand Slams. What is the case with Federer is that he loves sports and will play as much as he can.’
“We will do everything to get the result, but that is not the only reason why he still plays and wants to play. But it’s clear to me that there are people who can’t understand that.”
During his playing career Ljubicic won 10 ATP titles and earned more than $10 million in prize money.
