Some people need to practice more than Roger Federer, says former physio
In an interview to Sport.cz, the Czech physiotherapist Pavel Kovac recalled his four-year co-operation with Roger Federer. Kovac helped Federer a lot to stay healthy and recover from physical issue in the beginning of Roger's career. Commenting on how he approached Federer, Kovac said: 'In the late 90s, I served as physio for Mirka Vavrinec (current Federer's wife). She was pleased with it. Then I was away for almost two years, but I heard that she was practicing in Switzerland, where her parents live. After a while, Mirka called me. She was sat in a restaurant with Roger in Miami, where she had just lost, feeling tired. He wanted a physio and asked me if I was available for it.'
Kovac thought for a while before accepting: 'You are with an athlete from morning to night, you see him the early morning and then at late night. That's why I replied that we first needed to meet each other and then we could start working together. I went to Basel and I meet him. Roger was interested in working together, I told him to choose a tournament and go there together, he picked Halle and it started. When we started, he was 19 years old. Marek Vseticek (Radek Stepanek's fitness trainer) told me: "Hey, this will be very good". And he was right. I was a second father to him. I am much older than him, and for me, he wasn't just a brilliant player but also an unbelievably nice guy. This is a very important factor.'
On what makes Federer great, Kovac added: 'He has a natural talent for the tennis movement. Some people need to practice more than him. Roger can get the same result with much less effort. In the short term, you can cope with it but it's very tough in the long term. The body does not cope.'
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from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2CGpXzj
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