"It was silence, I felt his pain" - Former coach Ivan Ljubicic opens up about the phone call Roger Federer made to tell him he was retiring

Roger Federer hung up his racquet last year at the Laver Cup, bringing to an end an exemplary tennis career that lasted two decades.

The Swiss maestro played one last doubles clash partnering with his good friend Rafael Nadal at the event. He then had an emotional farewell that left many of his colleagues in attendance, including the likes of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, in tears.

Before that heartbreaking moment, the 20-time Grand Slam champion had to make a phone call to his coach at the time, Ivan Ljubicic, to let him know that he was retiring. In an exclusive interview with Tennis Majors, Ljubicic opened up about that moving call, revealing that he could feel the pain in the former World No. 1 from the other end.

At the same time, the Croat admitted that it did not come out of the blue. Federer's team had had their doubts for a while if he would be able to make a successful return to competitive tennis, given the extent of his knee injury.

Ljubicic, who coached Federer between 2016 and 2022, added that he tried to comfort his protege as best as he could, even if he did not know what to say to the Swiss that would make him feel better.

"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," Ljubicic said.

"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," he added.

Ivan Ljubicic then spoke about the start of the relationship. He said it was a no-brainer for him to say yes when the 20-time Grand Slam champion approached him with the offer.

Ljubicic also admitted to having doubts after a while, wondering what he had that could bring something new to the game of a veteran like Federer's. Regardless, he managed to overcome that mental block and lead the former World No. 1 to three Grand Slam titles (two Australian Opens and one Wimbledon), helping him break a four-year streak of not winning a Major.

"When Roger asks you to coach him, you say yes. I mean, it is zero doubt. But then, some time passes and then you’re like, okay : ‘well, if he didn’t win a slam in whatever, four and a half years, why do I think I’m going to be the one who’s going to change all that, or help change that?’ So there was the time there, of course you have doubts in your abilities, in your work," Ljubicic said.

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"I had moments and uncomfort where people thought that I was hired because I was Roger Federer's friend" - Ivan Ljubicic

Day Thirteen: The Championships - Wimbledon 2017

Ivan Ljubicic went on state that there were moments where he was uncomfortable because many thought Roger Federer had hired him as his coach only because he was his friend. To make matters worse, the Swiss injured himself in their second tournament together and had to spend some time on the sidelines.

But in hindsight Ljubicic considers that good fortune, as the time off allowed him and Federer and get to know each other better. At the end of it all, the Croat was nothing but happy about his successful six-year patnership with the 20-time Grand Slam winner.

"The start was tough because the second tournament, he hurt his meniscus and first surgery, which was a blow [Wimbledon 2016, editor’s note]. But at the same time now looking back, it was maybe fortune for us to actually get time to work and get to know each other even better," Ivan Ljubicic said.

"And then you just kind of go through. Of course, I had moments and uncomfort where people thought that I was hired because I was his friend and stuff like this. But I was obviously happy that the results did come after all," he added.