The former Swedish tennis player Peter Lundgrenwhich He was coach of the Swiss Roger Federer and took the great legend to the top, he died at the age of 59 years oldhis son Lukas announced on social media on Friday. “Unfortunately, one of the greatest has left us much earlier than he should have. A coach, a player, a friend and a father,” Lukas wrote on Facebook, adding a photo of his father with Federer and another Swiss player he coached, Stan Wawrinka. In addition, Peter led other tennis figures, such as Marcelo Rios, Marat Safin y Grigor Dimitrov.
Lundgren, who as a player won three tournaments of ATP, became world number 25 in 1985at a time when Swedish tennis was shining with Mats Wilander y Stefan Edbergwhich succeeded the iconic Bjorn Borg.
“Peter Lundgren was an extraordinary person, with a huge heart and a lot of humor,” Borg told the newspaper. The evening paper“Everyone loved him. The tennis world will miss him,” said the former world number 1. After his tennis career, Lundgren turned to technical work and coached Federer between 2000 and 2003. The Swiss won ten ATP tournaments during that time and his first Grand Slam title, Wimbledon 2003.
Lundgren suffered from diabetes and had his foot and part of a leg amputated in 2023; less than a year later, he died, aged 59.
Under Lundgren’s guidance, Roger achieved his first major success in professional tennis in London, his second home. That milestone marked the beginning of an era of dominance that led the genius to become one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Before that triumph, Federer had shown glimpses of his talent, but lacked the essential consistency and mental strength to make the leap to glory.
The Swedish coach took note of that need, transformed his pupil’s mentality, giving him more energy to handle the pressure in decisive moments and overcome his tendency to lose emotional control in important matchessomething quite common when the Swiss was young. Federer, in several interviews, acknowledged the impact Lundgren had on his career, noting that His calm approach and ability to give confidence were crucial in his development as a player.
Federer was incredulous that he had achieved his first Wimbledon victory in 2003; he broke down emotionally, as he would rarely do again in his career.
Years ago, the Swede opened his heart and revealed little-known details of his relationship with the Swiss. “It is never easy to work with a tennis player but, at that time, Roger was a very talented young man, maybe a little vague. Had some concentration problemsin addition to that I was not yet physically ready. Things started to happen very early because he always wanted to be the best and he saw that he had the potential to achieve it. The truth is that He was a difficult person to work with.but it has a big heart and it is a good guy“He grew very quickly to become the great ambassador of tennis that he is today. I am very proud of everything he achieved,” Lundgren said in an interview.
Together they grew and evolved until they reached the top. “Wimbledon 2003 was a very special moment for both of us. I always wanted to win that tournament, ever since I started playing tennis, but as a player I got to the round of 16, which is not bad. As a coach I did manage to win it, which made me very happy. For Roger, that title was what everyone expected of him. It was even a relief,” said the coach.
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In October 2023, Lundgren suffered a foot amputation and part of the left leg and spent several months in hospital. “It happened because of the infection I had and my broken ankle, which didn’t heal due to my type 2 diabetes, as I have poor circulation. But now I’m fine again. My rehabilitation will start soon and it’s just a matter of giving him the iron now,” he wrote at the time.
Less than a year later, he leaves behind a huge legacy, one that one of the greatest in history took note of.
