Ivan Ljubicic Croatian tennis player Date of Birth: 19.03.1979 Country: Monaco

Biography of Ivan Ljubicic

Ivan Ljubicic was born on March 19, 1979, in Banja Luka, Yugoslavia. His father, Marko, is a Bosnian Croat, and his mother, Hazira, is a Bosnian. He began playing tennis as a child in 1988 and soon started winning his first awards as a junior player. In May 1992, due to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, his family left Banja Luka. Ivan, his mother, and his brother moved to Opatija, Croatia, while his father was unable to join them. They reunited in November 1992 and relocated to Rijeka.

In April 1993, Ljubicic was sent to a tennis club in Moncalieri, near Turin, Italy. Over the next three years, Ljubicic showed great promise as an athlete. He decided to play for Croatia and in 1995 won his first national championship among juniors under 16. That same year, he earned his first ATP ranking points and represented the Croatian national team at the Winter Cup, a European indoor championship for players under 16. Teaming up with Zeljko Krajan, Ivan won the Orange Bowl junior tournament held annually in Florida. In 1996, his family moved to Zagreb, and Ivan continued to progress in his tennis career. He joined the tennis club 'Mladost' and competed in ITF junior tournaments. His biggest achievement as a junior was reaching the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Belarusian player Vladimir Voltchkov. He also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open juniors in 1997 and won the Eddie Harre tournament, making him the 2nd-ranked junior player in the world.

In early 1997, Ivan began training with Italian coach Riccardo Piatti. This marked the end of his junior success and the transition to professional sports. Wanting to treat himself, Ljubicic bought a "Porsche GT" car, the craziest thing he had ever purchased. In 2004, Ivan married Aida Ljubicic, who always accompanies him to ATP tournaments. Their first child, Leonardo Ljubicic, was born on December 10, 2008.

Ljubicic is a Croatian tennis player and was ranked as the 30th player in the world as of August 15, 2011. His highest ranking during his career was as the 3rd player in the world on May 1, 2006. He has won ten titles and earned a total of $9,450,269 in prize money throughout his career. Standing at 193 cm tall and weighing 92 kg, Ljubicic is known for his powerful game. He achieved his best results on tournaments with indoor carpet or outdoor hard court surfaces. He predominantly plays from the baseline and rarely comes to the net. Ljubicic uses the "Head Youtek Extreme Pro Racquet," although he played most of his career with "Babolat Pure Drive" racquets. In the past, Ljubicic served as the president of the ATP Player Council and expressed his opinion decisively on various issues, including the possible downgrade of the Monte Carlo and Hamburg Masters tournaments. Ljubicic and his compatriot Mario Ancic became the second pair in tennis history to defeat the Bryan brothers, who were recognized as the world's best male doubles team, at the Davis Cup. The second team to achieve this feat was a French duo consisting of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra. In 2005, Ljubicic helped the Croatian national team win the Davis Cup, defeating the Slovak team in the final.