ROGER FEDERER’S former coach Peter Lundgren has passed away at the age of 59.
The Swede, who reached world No25 as a player before turning to coaching, helped Swiss icon Federer to his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2003.
According to The Express, he had been suffering from diabetes prior to his death.
Lundgren’s son Lukas and daughter Julia confirmed his passing on social media.
Sharing the news on Facebook, they said: “Rest in peace Dad. One of the best has unfortunately left us far too soon.
“A coach, player, friend and father. An inspiration and helping hand for many, both on and off the court.
“The imprint you made and the memories will always live on.”
As a player, Lundgren’s best Grand Slam run was at the 1989 Wimbledon final when he reached the fourth round before losing to Ivan Lendl.
As well as Federer, Lundgren coached the likes of Grand Slam champions Stan Wawrinka and Marat Safin, along with Grigor Dimitrov, Marcelo Rios and Marcos Baghdatis.
He returned to Sweden in 2020 for the final years of his life.
And 11-time Grand Slam champion Bjorn Borg paid tribute to his fellow countryman following his passing.
He told Sportbladet: “Peter Lundgren was a wonderful person with a big heart and a lot of humour.
“He was a really good friend. He was loved by all. He will be missed in the tennis world.”
In October last year, Lundgren was forced to have his left foot and lower left leg amputated after breaking it.
Speaking on social media at the time, he said: “Unfortunately, I had to amputate my foot and a bit up because of the infection I had.
“My broken ankle did not heal because of my type two diabetes, you get bad circulation. But now I feel well again and soon my rehab will begin.
“I want to thank everyone for the nice words I got from all of you on FB! It really helps now for me to recover and to go through the rehabilitation and more!
“Time to fight.”
