Former World No. 3 Ivan Ljubicic spoke on a wide range of topics in a recent interview, including how he became a coach, what it was like to coach the great Roger Federer and a bit about their journey and how it came to an end. The Croatian opened up on the conversation he had with the Swiss about retirement and the emotions during and following that.
The two teamed up and found a lot of success together but the bond between them went beyond just a professional relationship and hence when the time came to call it a day, it wasn’t easy to deal with.
Roger Federer Calls Ivan Ljubicic
While speaking on Roger’s retirement, Ivan stated that he had received a call from the 20-time Grand Slam champion. On hearing the news, he failed to understand how to respond to it. As much as it was tough for the Swiss, it took a toll on the Croatian as well.
He stated,
“It was a phone call. But it didn’t come out of the blue. It was some time that we he’d had kind of doubts if he ever will come back. But it was silence. I didn’t know what to say, honestly. It’s hard to… I felt his pain. I felt, it was not an easy phone call for him, so I tried to give him comfort as much as I could, you know, but I needed comfort, too, so it was a difficult, difficult moment. But again, you know, it did not come as a surprise. We kind of all felt like it was coming sooner rather than later.”
It was one of the saddest moments in tennis history. There were many who knew that Federer would retire some day but they had no idea how it would impact one and other. It has been nearly a year since he announced it but the memories of him still remain fresh.
Federer Has No Plans of Following Ljubicic’s Steps
Fans have wondered what will Federer do next now that he has retired. There has been speculation that he would take up a coaching role. There would be many who love to see him take up a coaching role.
However, Ivan dismissed those rumors and insisted that he does not see him becoming a coach. He can become a mentor for the younger players on tour. He had done that earlier too when he was a player but Ivan doubts he will put all his time on one particular thing.
