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Wednesday September 28, 2005
Roche says faultless Federer can improve
By AAP
Coach Tony Roche has some bad news for anyone, including
Lleyton Hewitt, trying to knock world No.1 Roger Federer off his perch
- he's only going to get better. But local fans may still have
something to cheer about at January's Australian Tennis Open, with
Roche describing the Swiss champion as "very much an Australian in lots
of ways".
The former great and national Davis Cup coach, who has been
Federer's part-time coach since January, has pin-pointed areas of the
24-year-old's game that need work. And he's joining him at the
Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China, in November to make sure that
work is done ahead of the Open in Melbourne, where Federer will be
gunning for his seventh grand slam title. "I think his net game, he is obviously a good volleyer but he can get better," Roche said. "I think if he served and volleyed more it would certainly help his cause in the long run. "His second serve, it was pretty impressive at the US Open, but it can get a little bit better." Despite those "flaws", Roche admitted Federer was a model player. "The thing with Roger is that he is just about the complete player. "The players that I have worked with before like Lendl and Pat (Rafter), Roger is sort of a blend of all those guys. "That is the ideal world, to have people play tennis like Roger Federer," he said. Federer
has held down the top ranking for 86 straight weeks and has proved
almost untouchable - at least by former world No.1 Hewitt. The
Australian has lost the pair's last nine meetings, including those at
the 2005 US Open and Wimbledon where Federer took the titles. Roche said he felt torn sitting in the Swiss player's box during his semi-final win over Hewitt at Wimbledon. "It was tough at Wimbledon, Lleyton is a very dear friend of mine, that's life," he said. But he felt comfortable assisting Federer, because he had many "Australian" qualities that he admired. "He is such a terrific bloke, he's very much an Australian in lots of ways. "He's laid back, he loves his sport, he is easy to get along with, so it's been terrific." After
Shanghai, the pair won't meet up again until just prior to January's
Open, when Federer is likely to play in the invitational Kooyong
Classic. In Melbourne he will attempt to claim his third grand
slam title in succession, improving on last year's gripping five-set
semi-final loss to eventual champion Marat Safin.
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