Ivan Ljubicic, Roger Federer’s longtime coach, has claimed that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal cannot be compared to the Swiss icon in terms of their influence on tennis.
Ljubicic trained Milos Raonic for two and a half years following his retirement from the game before joining Federer’s staff in December 2015. At the 2017 Australian Open, they jointly put an end to his Grand Slam championship drought. He later added two more Slams to his collection, bringing his total to 20, before retiring in 2022.
The Croatian coach claimed in a recent interview with Sportklub that despite having more Grand Slam victories than Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal cannot be compared to his former student in terms of “effect” on the sport. Due to his lack of a COVID-19 vaccination, Novak Djokovic requested a special waiver in order to compete in the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Open in the United States. However, his application was denied, therefore he was forced to drop out of both competitions.
The Serb’s next stop might potentially be the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters, which gets underway on April 8. In 2013 and 2015, he twice won the Masters 1000 competition.
On the other hand, Rafael Nadal has been sidelined ever since he sustained a hip injury in the second round of the Australian Open this year. For the Sunshine Double, he was unable to go to either the Middle East or the United States.
The 36-year-old wants to return to the game at
