'Roger Federer was very systematic about the pre-season', says his former coach

Paul Annacone was a great player but also an excellent coach on an international level. In his 14-year tennis career, Annacone has won three ATP titles, reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, won Roland Garros in doubles and reached the final at the US Open. As a singles player he was number 12 in the world. As a coach Annacone helped Pete Sampras at the 1995 Australian Open replacing Tim Gullikson, who suddenly returned to America with a brain tumor. Then in 2010 another offer came, that of Roger Federer, with whom he worked until the end of 2013. During his appearance on the Tennis Haus Online Tips YouTube channel, Paul Annacone spoke at length about his coaching stint with Roger Federer.

Annacone on Roger Federer

"I think the great players, the ones I've been around, realize there isn't a magic formula. They tick all the professionalism boxes. Roger Federer was very systematic about the pre-season. His strength and conditioning coach Pierre Paganini is a genius. Pierre would coordinate with me," Paul Annacone said. He also outlined the pre-match schedule of Roger Federer, which involved a lot of discussions with the coach. "He has his routines," Annacaone said. "When I was with him, we usually the night before would have a brief talk for 5-10 minutes about what tomorrow's match looked like strategy-wise. We had just to make sure we were on the same page. Then on the day of the match, he'd wake up, he'd do this treatment, then he'd do his warm-up on the court hitting some balls. After the warm-up, he'll have his meal and usually between warm-up and when he plays, we go over again what we talked about the night before for the match," he added. Legendary tennis star Roger Federer celebrated his 39th on Wednesday, with fans from all over the world sending their best wishes for the maestro. Federer is the holder of a staggering 20 Grand Slam titles, and is regarded by many as the finest ever to hold a tennis racket. It isn't just the flawless game he possesses that has earned the Swiss a zillion fans, it's his humility and attitude that draw respect from one and all. He is still going deep into tournaments, though, reaching the final of Wimbledon in 2019 and this year’s Australian Open semi-finals. However, he is also working his way back from double knee-surgery, and he says he must be realistic about the prospect of hanging up his racket. “It is already clear that I am at the end of my career,” Roger Federer told SRFSports. “I cannot say what will be in two years."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/30G1Ah0