3 Years After Tennis Veteran’s Scathing Feedback, Roger Federer’s Ex-Coach Gets Real About His New Role at the Helm of French Tennis

Former world number 3 Ivan Ljubicic’s stint as the coach of Roger Federer ended after the Swiss maestro’s retirement from the sport in September last year. In December, Ljubicic was appointed the Director of the ‘Ambition 2024’ program by the French Tennis Federation, keeping the development of French tennis in mind. French Tennis has often been criticized in the recent past, owing to its questionable approach to producing young talents.

Gilles Simon, a former French ATP star who retired from the sport in 2022, was one of the most prominent names to point fingers at the French Tennis Federation. Ivan Ljubicic, however, expressed different views in a recent interview.

Ljubicic has his say on Gilles Simon slamming French Tennis for trying to replicate Roger Federer

Former French tennis player Gilles Simon’s book, ‘The Sport that Drives You Crazy’, was published in the year 2020. In the book, he criticized the French Federation for trying to impose the playing style of Roger Federer upon every young player trying to rise up the ranks, which, according to him, simply wasn’t possible.

In a recent interview with Tennis Majors, Ivan Ljubicic, who is currently associated with the French Tennis Federation, was asked to share his views regarding this.

The former coach of Roger Federer didn’t seem to be in full agreement with Gilles Simon. “Well, I’m six months here. I cannot agree that French players are playing to play like Roger. I think they respect him. I think they love what he did. And they enjoyed the beauty, they respected the beauty of the game, maybe more than the grind. So that part I can see. But I don’t think people are trying to play like Roger. The mentality, yeah, I mean, they’re French. You cannot take the French out of the French. That’s the part I’m trying to figure out now, really, to get to know them and get to understand the way of thinking, the way you know, the way of reasoning.”, he said. 

READ MORE: ‘He Soaks Up Everything’ – Ivan Ljubicic Reveals the Unknown Side of ‘Charismatic’ Roger Federer

But what exactly did Gilles Simon write in his much-talked-about book?

Simon disapproved of French Tennis blindly following Federer

In his book, Gilles Simon lashed out at the state of affairs in French tennis. He claimed that the Federation is too focused on pushing young players in trying to replicate Roger Federer by blindly following his playing style. According to him, coaches should encourage youngsters to carve their own paths and trust their natural talent rather than trying to emulate someone’s success. He added that trying to copy someone like Roger Federer isn’t a wise thing to do because it is almost impossible to become another Federer.

Ivan Ljubicic, on the other hand, has different opinions, which he clearly mentioned in his interview. Do you agree with Gilles Simon’s assessment of French Tennis as a whole? Let us know in the comments.

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