Brad Gilbert, a former US tennis star who now works as coach and tennis analyst for ESPN, spoke with ESPN about the relationship between Roger Federer and Ivan Ljubicic, who has just joined the team of the 17-time Grand Slam star. Gilbert reached a career high of number 4 in the world before coaching André Agassi, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori.
Federer beat Novak Djokovic three times this year but he lost two Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon and at the US Open. According to Brad Gilbert, Federer is not the kind of player who settles with what he achieved during a successful 2015 season highlighted by six ATP titles but he is looking for new ways to get better.
In the past Federer was coached by Tony Roche, Paul Annacone and Stefan Edberg who were known for their their passion for attacking tennis. Under the guidance of Edberg, Federer played aggressively at the net more frequently than in the past.
Ljubicic was known for his serve and his powerful forehand and can work to improve Federer’s backhand. Like Federer Ljubicic hit a one-handed backhand but the Croatian player employed a longer stroke and hit a heavier ball than the Swiss star. Ljubicic, who was known as a baseline player, can offer his useful advice especially against Djokovic.
“If you don’t think you can improve, you won’t. Federer thinks that he is a guy who really thinks he can still get better, and this is amazing. He is never satisfied, and this new relationship makes Roger believe he can beat Djokovic again in five set matches. He is going to look at things in a fresh way. These guys know each other, but it’s tough to imagine that Roger would have hired Ivan unless the coach had already presented a bunch of ideas and opinions to him.”, said Gilbert.
Ljubicic, a former World Number 3 player, played against Federer 16 times but won just three matches against the Swiss legend.
Ljubicic was the perfect choice for Federer as the former Croatian player has a great experience and knowledge of life on the ATP Tour. Moreover Ljubicic and Federer are close friends and were former hitting partners. For this reasons Ljubicic can be the right man who can help Federer reach his goal to win the elusive Olympic singles gold medal.
Severin Luthi will continue working as Federer’s main coach in most of the tournaments but Ljubicic will offer his great experience especially at bigger events.
Ljubicic reached a Grand Slam semifinal at the 2006 Roland Garros and won a Indian Wells title in 2010 and the Davis Cup in 2005. After the end of his career he has pursued a successful coaching career guiding Milos Raonic to the Wimbledon semifinal in 2014. He has been an influential figure on the ATP circuit. He served on the ATP Player Council and was on the ATP Board of Directors. He also managed Tomas Berdych and is currently working as television tennis pundit for Sky Sport in Italy. Raonic praised Ljubicic for his tremendous amount of support, knowledge and understanding.
“What Ljubicic is going to bring is familiarity, experience and maybe a little bit of new perspective, which is good sometimes. I twill be something new to think about, and at this stage of his career and as open-minded as Roger is, that can be a good thing”, said Paul Annacone to the New York Times.
