Ljubicic confided what Federer told him before the Wimbledon 2019 semis against Nadal

In the emotional documentary Ljubo – The man saved by tennis, produced by Sky Sport, Ivan Ljubicic, among other things, retraced the 2019 Wimbledon final won by Novak Djokovic in an epic and legendary challenge against Roger Federer.

The Croatian coach revealed a particular background story linked to the semi-final won by the Swiss Maestro with Rafael Nadal.

Ljubicic on what Federer told him before the Wimbledon semis against Nadal

The defeat suffered against the Spaniard, at the Roland Garros, a few weeks earlier, revealed Federer’s weakened sense of confidence in the head-to-head matches with his historic rival.

During the pre-match technical meeting, the Swiss literally told Ljubicic: “You have to convince me that I am stronger than Nadal.” A victory that thrilled and still thrills the Croatian coach, despite the defeat in the final.

“In 2019, Roger lost in the semifinals in Paris to Nadal. A match with a lot of wind. I can’t say that he would have won in different conditions, but the wind spoiled the match and gave us few points of reference. We didn’t know that that match had awakened Roger’s fears when he played against Nadal.

In 2019 he meets Nadal again in the semifinals at Wimbledon. Roger had beaten him six times out of seven in the last matches and the defeat had come on clay. I couldn’t have imagined that Roger had lost confidence that he could beat Nadal.

We prepared the match tactically, then Roger looked at me and said: Ivan, you have to convince me that I am stronger than Nadal. I did not expect. I had to convince Roger. He plays and manages to win the semi-final, for me it was a great emotion.

I was happy because for the first time I thought: If I hadn’t been there, I don’t know if he would have won. Coming out on the Centre Court, I cried. Unfortunately no one talks about it, because everyone talks about the final.

I still don’t know how he lost that final. He played better than Djokovic all five sets but lost three.” Federer chose to rely on Ljubicic in December 2015 and the two have built something special in the following seasons. Under his management, the Swiss won 12 ATP titles, including three Grand Slam tournaments, and once again reached the top of the rankings.