'I was invited to dinner by Roger Federer - everyone has the wrong idea about him'

Roger Federer's former coach has already made it clear that the public got the wrong perception of the Swiss legend. Last year, Ivan Ljubicic disclosed how the 20-time Grand Slam winner invited him for a meal before bringing him into his coaching setup ahead of the 2016 campaign.

The Croatian, who transitioned from playing to coaching, remained with Federer right through to his retirement in 2022. And he reckons the public's view of the Swiss legend is mistaken. Ljubicic proved instrumental in helping Federer rediscover his finest form. He came on board in 2016, though they encountered a significant hurdle when injury forced the Swiss maestro to cut short his season following Wimbledon.

The tennis icon bounced back spectacularly upon his 2017 return. He captured two Major championships after a five-year barren spell and claimed five additional titles.

By the start of 2018, he'd climbed back to world No. 1 and secured his 20th Grand Slam crown.

His choice to bring Ljubicic into his team proved inspired. And Federer's former mentor has now shared memories of that initial approach as the Swiss prepared to conclude his partnership with Stefan Edberg.

"I was working in London with Italian television for the Masters, and he invited me, his wife and my wife to dinner," the ex-world No. 3 told Eurosport in 2024.

"He asked me if I'd be interested in working with him. I was really surprised because I didn't know Stefan Edberg was going to stop. I said 'Yes, absolutely.'"

By this stage, Federer hadn't claimed a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2012 and was pondering whether he still had more to offer. Ljubicic had faith in his one-time opponent and supported him to secure several more titles.

He continued: "After that, we continued to talk about goals. He asked me if I thought he could still win Grand Slams because he hadn't won one for four years. I said 'absolutely'.

"I also said I wasn't signing up for just one Grand Slam, I said I'd like to win several."

The Croatian proved prophetic, as Federer claimed three additional Major championships before calling time on his illustrious career, becoming the first man to reach 20 Slams before being surpassed by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Throughout his career, Federer earned acclaim for his graceful and seemingly effortless playing style. Whilst Ljubicic acknowledged his former pupil executed things "perfectly", he revealed the public perception was misleading - they endured numerous challenging periods.

The 45-year-old elaborated: "The details, the excellence of everything he did, preparing for interviews, his warm-ups, the dinners. All the things he did, he did with great application.

"There were many days when I didn't know what to say because he was perfect. We've also had some difficult times mentally, because everyone thinks that everything is easy for Roger, but we've had some complicated times."

Following Federer's retirement, Ljubicic has been contributing to Sky Italia and accepted a position with the French Tennis Federation.