Renowned former Croatian tennis player Ivan Ljubicic took over the duties of coaching Roger Federer in 2015. This partnership brought back memories for fans involving the two players. One such memory was the 2006 Miami Open final in which Federer entered the ATP 1000 Masters tournament that year as a defending champion. For Ljubicic though, that was his first and only Miami Open final of his career.
Ljubicic barely faced any tough competition, winning every match, barring one, in straight sets. Federer too had a great outing, defeating Tommy Haas, Dmitry Tursonov, and David Ferrer in an almost one-sided contest, en route to his final. In the final, Federer did win in three sets, but they were well-fought three sets.
All three sets went to tiebreakers. Federer won the first set 7-6 (7-5), and the second set 7-6 (7-4) as well. Ljubicic was 4-2 ahead at one point in the second set, but Federer won it from there, courtesy mostly of his stellar one-handed backhand. Both sets could’ve gone either way, but it was the Swiss great who held his nerves better.
In the final set too, once the game was tied at 7-6, it was Federer who won it 8-6. This was Ljubicic’s greatest chance to win the ATP 1000 Masters title, which he never got again. He went on to win the 2010 Indian Wells though, his only Masters title in his entire career.
At 6’4″, Ljubicic was asking questions with his serve and backhand, and Federer struggled to find answers for a while. After the match, both players spoke their minds.
Ivan Ljubicic said, “For ten seconds after the match, you’re mad because you were close. But a week after, you’re proud. I’m going to be proud of the way I played and the fact that was close.”
Federer didn’t bother much about those comments and simply gave an analysis of his winning performance after the match. The tension was palpable between the two after the match.
Roger Federer said, “I played a fantastic match in Indian Wells to dominate him. So if I could do the same, that would be great.”
He continued, “I never panic. I think that’s the key in the end. You’ve got to believe in your game.”
What brought Roger Federer and Ivan Ljubicic together years later in 2015?
It was in December 2015 when Federer made the public announcement of having Ivan Ljubicic as his coach. The Croatian player replaced Swedish legend Stefan Edberg as part of Federer’s coaching staff. Severin Luthi remained the head coach, though. Thus, this became an amazing coincidence that Federer and Ljubicic shared a unique equation where they played against each other, as well as one coached the other.
The only other time Ljubicic won the ATP 1000 Masters i.e. the 2010 Indian Wells, he didn’t face Federer. Ljubicic defeated Novak Djokovic in the fourth round and Andy Roddick in the final. But Federer was knocked out by Marcos Baghdatis in the third round. Therefore, the Miami Open 2006 final remains a unique final in both their careers.
Overall, Federer has a 13-3 win-loss ratio against Ivan Ljubicic in their head-to-head battle.
