Hi, this is Billie Jean King. This is Mary and Bartorri.

I'm Matt's Belander. This is Mary Carillo.

I'm Stan Roenka. I'm Lighten Hutt.

This is Janik Noah and you're listening to the tennis podcast.

Hello folks. Catherine and Matt are on holiday this week, but we have a new Q&A podcast

recorded already in New York before we went our separate ways. That's going up for Friends

of the Tennis Podcast today, the link to become a friend.

Subscriber is available in your show notes right now, but here in what has been a big week

for tennis news with the announcement of Roger Federer's retirement, I've just had

chance to speak to his coach of the last six years, Ivan Lubichich, who was a top five player

in the world in his own right. I've been asking Ivan for an interview throughout the time they've

worked together, basically, for the last six years, but even made the decision that he just

didn't want to talk to the media about their player coach relationship during that time.

I respect that, it's obviously disappointing to me, but I do understand it, but with Federer's

career about to draw to a close in London at the Lava Cup this week, I had another go, and even

finally said yes. So here he is. Well, Ivan, it is lovely to talk to you for the first time in about

six years on the record, because we have an chance to do this. You didn't want to talk, it's

lovely to hear you. I honestly still don't want to talk, but you forced me to, so here I am.

That's right. I mean, what have the last 12 to 15 months been like? Because it's been,

we've been waiting, I imagine you've been waiting to write them from your perspective.

No, I mean, it was very slow. We knew that it would take time to understand

Roger's situation, so we knew that most likely it would at least take nine months, maybe more,

...