TennisToday

Roger Federer Covers Tennis View Mag as Coach & Practice Partner Prepare Him for New Year

Well, here we go... the 2011 season is almost upon us. Are you ready? I am a complete tennis nut and I must side with the players by saying this all-too-short off-season is ridiculous. I'm not ready.

But I'm guessing Roger and the rest of the boys are... Roger spent most of his time working with coach Paul Annacone and hitting partner Stefan Koubek in Dubai intensely preparing for the Abu Dhabi exhibition tournament and the Australian summer swing.

I doubtlessly need to remind you that Roger has a ton of points to defend right out of the gates as he is the defending champion in Melbourne - but if Roger has proved anything in his legendary career it is that it's complete folly to ever count him out. We could easily blink and he's collecting Slam #17.

Interesting to note... if he fails in his attempt to win the Australian Open it will mark the first time since winning his maiden Slam at Wimbledon in 2003 that he will not be the holder of at least one Slam title on tour.

Says Paul Annacone via Steve Flink's wonderful article: The big effect that I have as one of the guys that coaches Roger is that his playpen or toolkit is so deep. He has got lots of different clubs in his golf bag, so part of my job is figuring out how he can best use those. Today’s game is different than it was ten years ago in terms of style of play and the slower courts and the heavier balls and the different strings in the rackets. There are a lot of things that make it very different in terms of how to play offensive tennis. So philosophically for me as a coach it is different from when Pete was playing or even when Tim was playing. Roger’s biggest asset is that he can do so many things at the highest level and he still has that over everybody in the world. No one today can play the variety of styles at the level Roger does. That is just fact. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way towards Rafa or Djokovic or Murray or anybody; that is just the way it is. For me it is figuring out how to do what is best for Roger and to make sure in his mind that he sees that [aggression] as an opportunity and a position of strength versus a necessity.

From Stefan Koubek's Google translated blog entry on TennisNet: Training with Roger was, as always: a lot of impact exercises that are simply in very intense that he plays very heavy, very quickly and very accurately, towards the end a lot of points. Two players serve, one returned. Or two pure-play the ball while standing, is a right / left, that the exercises you stop playing when there are three of the square. What training with Roger so intense and so does so efficiently? That one just always one hundred percent to play. If we do not do when you badly at the ball is or is not focused well, that's just too fast, which falls immediately ... and of course, is against someone like Roger then quickly embarrassing.

Roger Federer has Summoned 'The Cone' to the US Open

Looks like the Fed and the Cone have re-swoon-ited.

This is news only cuz this is all they could talk about on ESPN in Cincy.

BTW, there are more people in the stands for Roger's practice session...

Than there are for the Pilot Pen Sf live on my TV right now. Sad.

Photo: Stephan Sacks

Here's Roger Federer's new kit for the US Open as fitness coach says he's 'As Fresh a as Junior.'

I wonder if the blue was inspired by his lunch with Queen Elizabeth...

And now a few words from Roger's fitness coach Pierre Paganini - taken from blick.ch and very crudely translated by Google.

How much does the fitness of Federer at?
It is still the most beautiful when everything is right. As a man, as an athlete, as a player. The reality, however, is that Roger, like many others, are from time to time in one hundred percent match is not feeling well. He knows that he can beat most opponents, even if it is missing a detail. But he also knows that it is dangerous then.

Federer is 29th in one week. Performance parameters as compared to see his earlier out to?
He is exactly the same fit as six years ago or three years ago. Exact figures I give out no. But all the measurements, one can have on explosiveness, speed or endurance of specific, are where they should be. He also has a lot more mature because he has been training all these years, very disciplined. The fact is: we can not implement every day, what one has everything in the suitcase.

What do you think when people say, its time run slowly.
If one of the pub with a beer in hand, says something, he should say so. Which can not be angry. Because they know no better. What irritates me are the so-called specialists, who conjure up after each defeat the end. Who feels tennis should come to a different verdict.

 

Andy Murray Begins US Summer Swing Tonight in L.A.

Los Angeles ATP 250 - 2nd Round

1/WC Andy Murray vs Q Tim Smyczek - H2H: 0-0

Ticket holders don't be late as this may be quick - #4 vs #192.

I actually went out and watched Tim beat Clement in the 1st R of quallies.

Andy is 22-10 for '10 and has went to win a title this season.

***

Andy is currently ranked #4 and that is certainly no stranglehold either.

Andy is only 350 points ahead of #5 Robin Soderling.

And as far as points to defend up to the Open: Andy 1,360 - Robin 10.

And guess what? Nikolay Davydenko isn't too far behind them at #6...

That might just be the real reason L.A. got such a high-profile player.

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Andy said this about the recent split with coach Miles Maclagan:

"I don't think there's a problem with my game. I just need to get better. That's something that maybe hasn't happened the last four or five months, something that hopefully by getting a new coach and a new sort of coaching team in place, that will help me do that, and hopefully achieve my goals."

Photo: Cindy Lum

Roger Federer takes Paul Annacone on as Coach

It's a nice idea for Roger to bring on a coach and Paul Annacone (above, shirtless) certainly brings with him a great resume. But that is only step 1. Step 2, in my opinion, is they need to get Roger playing more.

Years ago Roger needed to make an adjustment in his schedule to cut back the number of tournaments he entered because the guy was always playing on final Sunday. All that match play brimmed him with confidence unparalleled in the history of the sport.

This year has not been the same story. He has a serious lack of match play. In fact he went from winning the Australian Open in January to a opening match loss at Rome Masters Series 1000 in April having only played 5 matches - winning 3, losing 2.

He stated after he lost his #1 ranking (before Rafa won Wimbledon) that it was a goal of his to get it back by the end of the year. Well, here's the only plausible scenario... He'll have to win the US Open, a Master Series title or two (there are only 4 left) and do something he doesn't do much of: play a few 500's and *gasp* maybe even a couple 250's. It can be done but only with more match play.

Hell, he should be entered in Los Angeles. 3 tournaments before the Open is better than 2 for him right now. He surely doesn't need to run into someone like an Isner who will be hot from a full US Open series schedule in the 4th round at the Open with just (at a maximum) 8-10 matches played in Toronto and Cincy. That worked for the old Federer era - we look to be dealing with a new and trickier era.

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As for Paul Annacone, he shouldn't get too comfortable as Roger's coach. Roger has a habit of bringing in someone for a few months before he parts ways.

The former and last coach of the great Pete Sampras, Annacone was clearly brought in to help Roger shorten his points. As a player on the ATP tour from the mid-80's to the mid-90's his playing style was 'chip and charge or die.'

Paul won 3 ATP titles and made a Qf appearance at Wimbledon with this attitude and got as high as #12 in the rankings. Even better was his doubles prowess winning 14 titles including the Australian Open in '85.

Bodo on Nick Bollettieri's Exclusion from the Hall of Fame

At long last - - - Pete Bodo and I actually finally agree on something.

If you have a few minutes please take the time to read Bodo's take (on Tennis.com), which mirrors mine, on how and why Nick Bollettieri did NOT make the cut into the Tennis Hall of Fame this year. As Pete sums it up perfectly - it probably has something to do with his gruff image.

Boo to the HoF.

Nick should (and deserves) legendary coaching status but instead finds himself continually at odds with the prim of the sport.

In my humble opinion, the Tennis Hall of Fame needs to be moved to a city that people actually visit. Newport, R.I. - really?

A quick personal tory: Once in the early 90's I was riding the subway back to Manhattan from the US Open and sitting across the car from me was good ol' Nick. At first I thought it strange that he didn't have a driver (lord knows he could afford it) but I enjoyed the fact that he was just trying to be like us regular folk. The people on the subway were tennis knowledgeable and he was certainly recognized and even engaged a fan in a little Agassi talk. We exchanged smiles just before he de-trained at Grand Central.