Father Time is catching up with Roger Federer, says former coach
In an interview to El Independiente, Roger Federer's former coach Jose Higueras commented on the Swiss player's chances to triumph on the biggest stage one more time. "Father Time is catching up with Federer because the body does not recover the same as before at that age and his best chance to win another Grand Slam may be Wimbledon. I do not know who can beat Rafa (Nadal) in Paris if he is doing well, I have no doubts he can get to 20 and the same with (Novak) Djokovic, who is a little bit younger and is dominating in the recent times", admitted Higueras, who worked with the Swiss in 2008.
Higueras was a former player and he commented on how his game evolved over the years: "I was a pretty boring player, always waiting for the opponent and giving balls without dictating. But I played that way for lack of knowledge, for not having other experiences in tennis beyond the clay. I did not need, for example, to go to the net to deliver my style."
Higueras only won clay-court titles until 1983 when he conquered the Indian Wells tournament. "It may have been my greatest professional achievement. When I came here there were only hard courts and I started training on that surface, faster than the current one. The people's mind here helped me a lot, suddenly everyone supported me, the change was also a mental one and in those years (1982, 83 and 84) and I played my best tennis. Higueras retired in 1986 and he coached Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Sergi Bruguera, Pete Sampras, Carlos Moyá and Roger Federer. The Spaniard also led Courier to the first ranking position. "Courier was just 20 years old when i started working with him, he was already playing pretty well. He was the world No. 30 or 40. The main job with him was a mental one because he had a big anxiety every time he played, that did not allow him to deliver his best tennis. Then he also improved tennis-wise aspects, but the head was crucial."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2BE8JSg
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