.JPG) | ||||||||||||
| Country (sports) |  Croatia | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residence | Monte Carlo,Monaco | |||||||||||
| Born | (1979-03-19)19 March 1979 (age 46) | |||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | |||||||||||
| Turned pro | 1998 | |||||||||||
| Retired | 15 April 2012 | |||||||||||
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) | |||||||||||
| Prize money | US$10,181,121 | |||||||||||
| Singles | ||||||||||||
| Career record | 429–296 (59.2% inATP Tour andGrand Slam main draw matches, and inDavis Cup) | |||||||||||
| Career titles | 10 | |||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 3 (1 May 2006) | |||||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | ||||||||||||
| Australian Open | QF (2006) | |||||||||||
| French Open | SF (2006) | |||||||||||
| Wimbledon | 3R (2006,2007,2011) | |||||||||||
| US Open | 3R (2005,2007) | |||||||||||
| Other tournaments | ||||||||||||
| Tour Finals | RR (2005,2006) | |||||||||||
| Olympic Games | 3R (2000,2004) | |||||||||||
| Doubles | ||||||||||||
| Career record | 111–128 (ATP Tour andGrand Slam-level, and inDavis Cup) | |||||||||||
| Career titles | 0 | |||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 70 (16 May 2005) | |||||||||||
| Grand Slam doubles results | ||||||||||||
| Australian Open | QF (2010) | |||||||||||
| French Open | 3R (2004,2006) | |||||||||||
| Wimbledon | 1R (2005,2006,2007) | |||||||||||
| US Open | QF (2003,2009) | |||||||||||
| Other doubles tournaments | ||||||||||||
| Olympic Games |  Bronze Medal (2004) | |||||||||||
| Team competitions | ||||||||||||
| Davis Cup | W (2005) | |||||||||||
| Coaching career (2013–2022) | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| Coaching achievements | ||||||||||||
| Coachee singles titles total | 17 | |||||||||||
| List of notable tournaments (with champion)
| ||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||
Ivan Ljubičić (Croatian pronunciation:[ǐʋanʎûbitʃitɕ];[1][2] born 19 March 1979) is a Croatian former professionaltennis player, coach and Tennis TV commentator. He reached a career-highAssociation of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 3 singlesranking on 1 May 2006. His career highlights include reaching amajor semifinal at the2006 French Open, and aMasters title at theIndian Wells Masters in2010. He also contested three other Masters finals, two in 2005 atMadrid andParis, and the other at the2006 Miami Open.[3]
Since retiring, Ljubičić has coached ATP top-3-ranked playersMilos Raonic andRoger Federer. He was credited with Federer's improved backhand later in his career, especially evident on high shots, as well as introducing tactical changes of taking shots much earlier: taking more time, pace, and rhythm off opponents and simultaneously making Federer's game more offensive.
Ljubičić turned pro in 1998. During his career, he achieved his best results in indoor tournaments played on carpet or hardcourt. He reached consecutive indoor Masters finals in 2005 at Madrid and Paris, losing both of them in 5 sets. Ljubičić andMario Ančić were the first doubles team to defeatBob and Mike Bryan inDavis Cup history, and only one of four to have done that, the other teams being France'sArnaud Clément andMichaël Llodra, Brazil'sMarcelo Melo andBruno Soares and Serbia'sNenad Zimonjić andIlija Bozoljac.[citation needed] Ljubičić helpedCroatia win the2005 Davis Cup, their first ever title, where they triumphed over theSlovakian Davis Cup team in the final. He qualified for the year-endTennis Masters Cup in2005 and2006.
Ljubičić served as the ATP Players' Council president and in 2008 became one of the few active players to serve on the ATP Board of Directors.[4] He won his first Masters title in 2010, and retired in 2012 at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
After retirement, Ljubičić has worked as a coach and manager for several top 5 players.
Ljubičić was born inBanja Luka, at the timeSR Bosnia and Herzegovina,SFR Yugoslavia to aBosnian Croat father, Marko, and aBosniak mother, Hazira (née Beganović). He started playing tennis as a child in 1988, and he soon won his first local awards as a junior. In May 1992, because of thewar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the family left Banja Luka, and Ivan, his mother and his brother moved toOpatija, Croatia, while his father was unable to leave. In November 1992, they were reunited and moved toRijeka. Soon after, in April 1993, Ljubičić went to a tennis club inMoncalieri nearTurin, Italy. During the next three years, Ljubičić grew into a promising prospect.
He decided to play for Croatia and in 1995 won his first junior championship, becoming the Croatian under-16 champion. The same year, he won his firstATP points and played for theCroatian team in theWinter Cup (European under-16 indoors championship). Pairing up withŽeljko Krajan, he won theOrange Bowl (the unofficial world under-16 championship).[5]
In 1996, the family moved toZagreb, while Ivan continued his successes. He joined the tennis clubMladost and played in more and more juniorITF tournaments. His biggest success as a junior was reaching the final atWimbledon, where he was defeated byVladimir Voltchkov ofBelarus after winning the first set.
He reached theAustralian Open junior semifinal in 1997 and won theEddie Herr tournament, which made him the No. 2 junior in the world. In early 1997, he started training with the Italian professional coachRiccardo Piatti. His successes continued: quarterfinals of the juniorFrench Open, and first steps of entering professional tennis.
He turned professional in 1998 and played in the final of theATP Challenger in Zagreb, where he lost to former French Open finalistAlberto Berasategui. He played a number of smaller tournaments the same year, but had little success and finished the year ranked No. 293.
In 1999, he won twoFutures tournaments, as well as a Challenger inBesançon, France. He won two more victories in the qualifications for the Casablanca Tour event, where he was defeated byJuan Carlos Ferrero. He then entered the Super 9 tournament in Monte Carlo (today'sMonte Carlo Masters), where he reached the third round after an amazing run in which he defeatedAndrei Medvedev andYevgeny Kafelnikov. He also played in theCroatia Open inUmag, where he was eliminated in the semifinal byMagnus Norman. He finished the year ranked world No. 77.[citation needed]
In 2000, Ljubičić played in two semifinals (Sydney and Båstad) and three quarterfinals (Marseille, Copenhagen, and Brighton). He also played in the third round of theOlympic tournament.
He won his firstATP singles title at Lyon in 2001, after defeatingGustavo Kuerten,Gastón Gaudio,Marat Safin, andYounes El Aynaoui. At that point he reached No. 29 in the professional rankings and continued to play well, participating in seven ATP Tour semifinals: Adelaide, Rotterdam, Miami, St. Polten, Gstaad, Umag, and Cincinnati. He finished the year ranked No. 37.
In 2002, he was in two semifinals (Rotterdam and Gstaad) and four quarterfinals (Adelaide, Dubai, Umag, and Tashkent) on the ATP Tour, and it was the first time he passed the first round at aGrand Slam, when he reached the third round of the Australian Open, where he was stopped byWayne Ferreira in five sets. He ended the year ranked No. 49, and also No. 2 in the number ofaces, behindWayne Arthurs.[5]
In 2003, he reached the semifinals of Milan, Dubai, Bangkok, and Basel. He also reached the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters and the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters. He lost in the second round in the U.S. Open toAndy Roddick, who would then go on to become the champion that year. The score was 3–6, 7–6, 3–6, 6–7.
In 2004, he started the year as the runner-up toNicolas Escudé in Doha, and also played in the semifinals in the Hamburg Masters, Indianapolis, and the Madrid Masters. He also reached the quarterfinals at Basel and the Miami Masters. At theOlympics, he teamed up withMario Ančić to win the bronze medal in doubles. They were defeated by theChilean duo ofFernando González andNicolás Massú, the eventual gold medalists, in the semifinals. In the bronze medal match, they defeated the Indian team ofMahesh Bhupathi andLeander Paes. During the year, Ivan married his wife Aida, who is always with him at ATP tournaments. They have two children.[6][7]
In 2005, Ljubičić won two ATP titles and was the runner-up at another six, losing to world No. 1Roger Federer in three of them, and world No. 2Rafael Nadal in another one.
After the retirement ofGoran Ivanišević, Ljubičić was the top player on the CroatianDavis Cup team. In the first round ofDavis Cup, the Croatian team defeated the United States in the first round played in March. Ljubičić defeatedAndre Agassi in straight sets in his first singles match. He then teamed withMario Ančić to defeat theBryan Brothers, then the world's second-ranked doubles team. He finally clinched victory for his country, defeating America's No. 1 player and former world No. 1Andy Roddick in five sets.
In July at the Davis Cup Quarterfinals, Ljubičić again won his singles matches against Romania'sVictor Hănescu andAndrei Pavel, and then together with Ančić in the doubles match defeated the Pavel-Gabriel Trifu duo in five sets. In the semifinal held in September against the Russian team, Ljubičić defeatedMikhail Youzhny in five sets in his first singles match. He teamed with Ančić to defeatIgor Andreev andDmitry Tursunov in another five-set match. Finally, he defeatedNikolay Davydenko to secure victory for Croatia.
He reached consecutive finals of the last two Masters Series Events, losing to Nadal inMadrid after being up two sets to love and toTomáš Berdych atParis. He finished the year ranked No. 9 in the world and earned his first appearance at the year-endMasters Cup, where he was eliminated in the group stage (Ljubičić was one of a number of entrants who were invited due to the withdrawal of higher-ranked players, such as No. 2 Rafael Nadal).
In the Davis Cup final, Ljubičić defeatedKarol Kučera in the opening singles match. He then paired withMario Ančić to win the doubles match. Although Ljubičić lost his second singles match toDominik Hrbatý, Ancic's victory overMichal Mertiňák in the final match gave Croatia its first Davis Cup victory.
Prior to the Australian Open, Ljubičić played a tournament in Chennai. Seeded first, he was expected to do well on the hard courts there.[citation needed] He reached the final and defeated SpaniardCarlos Moyà. At theAustralian Open, he reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career. He defeatedThomas Johansson of Sweden in straight sets in the fourth round. He lost to eventual finalistMarcos Baghdatis ofCyprus in the quarterfinals in five sets. After the Australian Open, he played at the Zagreb Indoor Open, which is played on carpet, a surface typically favoured by Ljubičić. He reached the final once more and defeatedStefan Koubek.[8]
He bettered this feat when he made the semifinals of theFrench Open, beatingCarlos Berlocq,Óscar Hernández,Juan Mónaco,Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo andJulien Benneteau before the run ended with a loss toRafael Nadal, who holds the record for the longest win streak on clay. It was speculated[by whom?] that Ljubičić was able to make it this far because his highest-ranked opponent was not even ranked in the top 70.[citation needed] After the match, Ljubičić made controversial comments about how Nadal took too much time between points. He stated he hopedRoger Federer would defeat him in the final.[citation needed] However, Nadal went on to beat Federer in thefinal. Ljubičić then traveled toQueen's Club, defeatingRăzvan Sabău before losing toGaël Monfils in the round of 16.
At theWimbledon Championships, Ljubičić faced 2005 quarterfinalistFeliciano López. He won 11–9 in the fifth. He then defeatedJustin Gimelstob, before losing in the third round toDmitry Tursunov, after being up two sets to none. He then traveled toGstaad, Switzerland to play in theAllianz Suisse Open on red clay. Being the top seed, he defeated SpaniardAlbert Portas in the first round andMarco Chiudinelli in the second round, before losing to seedFeliciano López in straight sets. In theCanada Masters, he reached the third round, before losing out toFernando González. He then went to theBangkok Open, where he was the top seed and reached the final round. He met America'sJames Blake, but was defeated and moved to no. 3 on the ATP ace list. He did not remain no. 3, due toDavid Nalbandian, who pushed him down by advancing to the semifinals in Madrid. At the US Open, Ljubičić was drawn againstFeliciano López of Spain in the first round, as he had been at Wimbledon. Lopez defeated Ljubičić in straight sets.
Ljubičić began his 2007 season with a victory at the $1 millionQatar ExxonMobil Open. En route to his victory, he defeatedAndy Murray in the finals. In doing so, he became the race leader in the2007 Indesit ATP Race. In this tournament, Ljubičić played his first competitive match with aHead racquet, after abandoning his previous racket sponsor,Babolat.[citation needed]
He played in theAustralian Open and was seeded fourth, but was surprisingly defeated in the first round byMardy Fish. Ljubičić bounced back well to make the final of theZagreb Indoor Open, against CypriotMarcos Baghdatis. Despite not losing serve the entire match until facing matchpoint, Ljubičić lost in the final. At theOpen 13 tournament in Marseille, Ljubičić, the second seed, was one of four seeds to lose in the first round, losing to qualifier but local favoriteNicolas Mahut. InRotterdam, he made it to the final, where he was beaten byMikhail Youzhny. At thePacific Life Open inIndian Wells, California, Ljubičić lost toAndy Roddick in the quarterfinals.[9]
Prior to Wimbledon, Ljubičić had some success on the grass courts, a surface in which he had previously failed to reach the last eight. Playing ats'Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, he defeated Dutch home crowd favourite,Peter Wessels in three tight sets. Ljubičić won the final set 7–6, securing his victory, despite not breaking the Dutchman's serve in the match. As the 15th seed (ranked no. 12), he opened hisWimbledon campaign against AmericanVince Spadea, followed by a win overJan Hernych, but fell in four sets toPaul-Henri Mathieu. He andErnests Gulbis lost in themen's doubles competition in the first round. In September, just one day before start of Davis Cup tie against Great Britain, he discovered blood in his urine. After tests, it was announced that he had two small stones in the kidney. He was then advised to take a break for the next couple of weeks.[citation needed]
Ljubičić then reached the semifinals of theChina Open, losing toFernando González, the quarterfinals inVienna, and the quarterfinals inLyon. However, he failed to win a match in the twoMasters Series tournaments, losing toStefan Koubek inMadrid andMarcos Baghdatis inParis.
Ljubičić's first tournament of 2008 was inDoha, where he reached the semifinals, losing toStanislas Wawrinka. However, he suffered a first-round defeat at theAustralian Open, losing to DutchmanRobin Haase in four sets. He was then granted a wildcard to a Challenger inEast London, South Africa, where he defeatedStefan Koubek in straight sets. It was Ljubičić's first Challenger in over two years.[10]
His next significant result was inZagreb, where, as the home crowd favorite, he reached the final, losing to Ukrainian lucky loserSergiy Stakhovsky. At theFrench Open, Ljubičić came back from a two-set deficit to defeat world No. 4, and 2007 French Open semifinalistNikolay Davydenko. He had previously lost to Davydenko on clay at Hamburg in 2008. AtWimbledon, Ljubičić lost to AustrianJürgen Melzer in five sets.[11]
Ljubičić started the season as world No. 58. His first tournament was theAustralian Open, where he beatIgor Kunitsyn in the first round in five sets, before losing in the second round toJo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets. He then participated atZagreb, where he defeatedChristophe Rochus in the first round, before losing toViktor Troicki in the second. He then lost in the opening match in three tournaments: inRotterdam toAndy Murray inMarseille toFeliciano López and in theDubai toDavid Ferrer. His ranking fell to No. 74.
His next tournament was theBNP Paribas Open. He defeatedKei Nishikori in the first round, and fellow CroatianMario Ančić in the second when Ančić retired with illness at 3–3. He then upset eighth seededGilles Simon in the third and outlastedIgor Andreev in the fourth to reach the quarterfinals, where he was at last beaten by fourth seededAndy Murray. Ljubičić received a wild card into theMonte Carlo Masters and in the second round defeatedJuan Martín del Potro. He proceeded to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by four-time defending championRafael Nadal. Due to his strong play at Monte Carlo, he received a wild card into theMadrid Masters. He again defeated a top-10 player in the second round, beating ninth seedJo-Wilfried Tsonga. He then defeated eighth seedGilles Simon to reach his third quarterfinal at a Masters 1000 event. He was defeated byNovak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. His performances during the clay-court season have helped his ranking improve to No. 43, his highest since August 2008. His clay-court form did not carry into theFrench Open, as he suffered a disappointing defeat byJuan Carlos Ferrero in five sets in the first round. Ljubičić didn't compete atWimbledon due to an injury.[citation needed]
Ljubičić returned to form in China. At theChina Open, he reached the quarterfinals, losing toRobin Söderling. At the inauguralShanghai Masters event, Ljubičić reached the quarterfinals for the fourth time at a Masters 1000 event. He defeatedJulien Benneteau in the first round, world No. 9Fernando Verdasco in straight sets in the second round and was cruising overGaël Monfils 6–2, 3–0, before the Frenchman retired. Ljubičić then retired from his quarterfinal match againstRafael Nadal, after splitting the first two sets. He was the eighth player to retire during the event. He won his first title since June 2007, at theGrand Prix de Tennis de Lyon event. Seeded third, he did not defeat a single seeded player, benefiting from several seeded players losing early. After defeatingMartín Vassallo Argüello andNicolas Kiefer, Ljubičić defeated three Frenchmen in a row to take the title. He defeatedFlorent Serra, and wild cardsArnaud Clément in the semifinal andMichaël Llodra in the final.
Ljubičić began the season with a third-round finish at theAustralian Open, losing toIvo Karlović. He also made the quarterfinals in theDubai Tennis Championships, where he lost to eventual champion and world No. 2Novak Djokovic, in three sets.
At theBNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, he beat Djokovic in the fourth round. He proceeded to upset defending championRafael Nadal in the semifinals, avenging his loss against him in the2005 Madrid Masters final and sending Ivan to his fourth career Masters 1000 final. He successfully broke his trend of three previous final losses in these master series tournaments by defeating American favoriteAndy Roddick in the final to lift his first ever Masters Series trophy.[12] He became the first Croat to ever win the tournament, the second-oldest winner at the tournament (behindJimmy Connors who was five months older when he won in 1984), and the oldest first-time winner of a Master Series 1000 event.[13] As a result of his performance in the tournament, in which he defeated three top-10 players—Djokovic (No. 2) in the quarterfinals, Nadal (No. 3) in the semifinals, and Roddick (No. 8) in the final, en route to the title—he broke into the top 20 in the rankings for the first time in nearly two years, No. 13 as of 22 March.[14]
Ljubičić reached the latter rounds of the Monte Carlo clay-court tournament and the third round atWimbledon, where he lost toAndy Murray. He lost toDavid Nalbandian in the second round at theUS Open. He reached the finals inMetz in September, where he lost toJo-Wilfried Tsonga. He reached the semifinals of theChina Open, but lost toMarin Čilić.[15]
Ljubičić played the last tournament of his professional career atMonte-Carlo Rolex Masters in April.[16] He ended his career by losing in the first round toIvan Dodig 6–0, 6–3.[17]
In March, Ljubičić becameTomáš Berdych's manager.[18]
In June, Ljubičić became Canadian playerMilos Raonic's coach.[19] Two months later, Raonic reached his first Masters final inToronto, losing toRafael Nadal.
In his first full season under Ljubičić, Raonic broke into the top 10 in 2014 and also reached his firstFrench Open quarterfinals, losing toNovak Djokovic, as well as his firstWimbledon semifinals, losing toRoger Federer. In November, Raonic reached his second Masters final inParis, losing to Djokovic again. He also qualified for his first ATP World Tour Finals appearance, but was eliminated in round robin.
In his second full season under Ljubičić, Raonic reached his first Australian Open quarterfinals, losing to Djokovic. In December, Ljubičić ended his partnership with Raonic and started to work with his old rival and former world No. 1Roger Federer.
Ljubičić coached Federer together with Swiss Davis Cup CaptainSeverin Luthi. In February, a week after reaching the semifinals of theAustralian Open losing to Djokovic, Federer underwent knee surgery. It is only his second tournament with Ljubičić. An attempted comeback in May was halted by further back problems. Federer managed to reach the semifinals ofWimbledon losing to Ljubičić's former student Raonic before re-injuring his knee and subsequently taking six months off to recover.
In January, under Ljubičić's guidance, Federer defeatedRafael Nadal in thefinal of theAustralian Open, giving Ljubičić his first Grand Slam as a coach. It was Federer's first win against Nadal at the Australian Open, and the first time Federer beat Nadal in a Grand Slam since 2007. It was Federer's 18th Grand Slam, extending his all-time record. Two additional Masters titles followed in March atIndian Wells, where Federer defeated countrymanStan Wawrinka in the final, and atMiami, where Federer defeated Nadal in the final.
After skipping the clay season, Federer claimed his 19th Grand Slam atWimbledon without dropping a set, defeatingMarin Čilić in the final. In October, Federer beat Nadal in the Shanghai Masters final. It was his fourth win of the year against Nadal and his fifth in succession over the Spaniard.
In January, under Ljubičić's guidance, Federer was able to defendAustralian Open by defeatingMarin Čilić in the final. In mid-February, Federer won his thirdRotterdam Open title to return to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, officially clinching the spot with a quarterfinal victory overRobin Haase.
Ljubičić is known for his offensive and intelligent game, characterized by his deadly serve and powerful groundstrokes off both wings, as well as his excellent selection of shots. His serve is known for its precision, incredible consistency, and tremendous speed, as it was often clocked above 130 mph and can reach up to high 140s (mph). His serve is often compared with contemporaryAndy Roddick, being two of the best servers of the generation, although Roddick's serve relies on more power than precision. He usually stays at the baseline, relying on his fast, consistent and wide-driving groundstrokes, and uses slice and dropshots to great effect to surprise his opponents. He is very adept at the net, approaching when he sees fit, which also made him a good doubles player. His main weaknesses are his occasional inability to close out 5-set matches, and to a lesser extent, his movement around the court.
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Professional Career | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L |
| Australian Open | A | Q2 | Q1 | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 2R | QF | 1R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 13 | 13–13 |
| French Open | A | A | A | Q2 | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1R | SF | 3R | 4R | 1R | 3R | 4R | A | 0 / 12 | 18–12 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 1R | A | 1R | 3R | A | 0 / 11 | 8–11 |
| US Open | A | Q2 | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 3R | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 12 | 9–12 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 11–4 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 4–4 | 8–4 | 0–1 | 0 / 48 | 48–48 |
| Professional Career | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L |
| Tennis Masters Cup | Did not qualify | RR | RR | Did not qualify | 0 / 2 | 2–4 | |||||||||||||
Ìvan
Ljȕbičić
