The 21st century
Croatia · born Banja Luka, 1979 · right-handed · 's-Hertogenbosch champion 2007
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1
Grass title: 's-Hertogenbosch 2007
3
Career-high ranking, May 2006
10
ATP singles titles
3R
Best Wimbledon result: 2006, 2007, 2011
2005
Davis Cup winner with Croatia
Ivan Ljubičić was born in Banja Luka in 1979. In 1992, when war reached Bosnia and Herzegovina, he left with his mother and brother and lived as a refugee in Croatia; in 1993 he was one of eight young refugee players invited to train in Italy, where he spent almost three years. Playing for Croatia, he reached the Wimbledon boys' final in 1996 and turned professional in 1998.
His game was built on a big serve and a one-handed backhand, and his best results came indoors. He won ten ATP titles, including the Indian Wells Masters in 2010, reached the French Open semi-finals and No. 3 in the world in 2006, led Croatia to its first Davis Cup in 2005 and won Olympic doubles bronze with Mario Ančić in 2004. He retired in 2012. As a coach he worked with Milos Raonic and then with Roger Federer, who won three majors with him, including Wimbledon in 2017.
| 's-Hertogenbosch 2007 | Second seed. Beat Julien Benneteau 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4 in the semi-final and the Dutchman Peter Wessels 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4) in the final, his first run to the last eight on grass |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon boys' singles 1996 | Runner-up to Vladimir Voltchkov, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, after winning the first set |
| Wimbledon 2006 | Beat Feliciano López 11-9 in the fifth set of the first round; lost in the third round to Dmitry Tursunov after leading by two sets |
| Invitation doubles | Won the Wimbledon gentlemen's invitation doubles in 2015 with Goran Ivanišević |
| As a coach | In Federer's corner when he won Wimbledon in 2017 without losing a set, and for the 2019 final, lost to Novak Djokovic in a fifth-set tiebreak at 12-12 |
| 's-Hertogenbosch (Rosmalen) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Men's singles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. † single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"I didn't complain; I was only missing my dad."
The person behind the player.
Banja Luka, 1992
At 13 he left Banja Luka with his mother and older brother on a bus for women and children, then flew to Belgrade. Their bus could not enter Slovenia because of its Yugoslav number plates, so they crossed the border on foot. The family was apart for six months before being reunited in Rijeka in November 1992.
Source: UNHCRItaly, 1993
In April 1993 he and seven other young refugee players from Bosnia and Herzegovina were invited to train in Italy, where he stayed for almost three years. He had started playing at nine, inspired by Stefan Edberg.
Source: UNHCR's-Hertogenbosch, June 2007
Rain held up the other semi-final, so he had to wait to learn his opponent after beating Julien Benneteau. "This is a great feeling," he said He then beat Peter Wessels in three close sets in the final.
Source: The Financial Express (AFP)Wimbledon 2019
Looking back on Federer's 2019 final, lost after holding two match points, he said: "Roger was the better player in that final" and "We didn't know at the time that it would be his last chance to win a major title."
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