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Monday July 4, 2005
Champion is reaping rich rewards from 10 years of toil
By Eleanor Preston, The Guardian
As
Roger Federer glided to ball after ball on Centre Court yesterday,
Pierre Paganini, the man responsible for the Wimbledon champion's
remarkable speed and agility, could afford to sit back and enjoy the
fruits of a decade of hard work with the World No1. "Roger
is definitely fitter than he was four or five years ago and that's
because of the work he does," said Paganini yesterday, half an hour
after watching Federer win his third Wimbledon title in a row.
"Tennis is played not
just with the hands but with the feet, especially for Roger," said
Paganini. "In an intense match or a very long match his footwork has to
stay perfect in order for him to make those shots and the reason he can
put his feet in exactly the right place over and over again is because
he is strong physically and mentally. He was tired even before
Wimbledon but he never let it show because even when he is tired his
footwork is very precise. You can do that when you are physically and
mentally strong. Sometimes his best muscle is his head." Like
most players, Federer has assembled a team around him to keep himself
in optimum shape. Paganini works in consulation with Federer's coach of
seven months, Tony Roche, and Pavel Kovac, the physiotherapist who
travels with Federer to take care of the aches and pains that come as
an inevitable result of the hours he spends on court and in the gym. "I
think the most impressive thing about Roger is that he works even
harder now than he did before he became really successful," said
Paganini. "A lot of players don't mind working hard on the way up
because they are desperate to get better and they find it hard to
motivate themselves once they start winning big titles, but not Roger.
He just keeps wanting to work harder. He works like a challenger even
though he is a champion." Paganini
has been helping Federer make tennis look easy for the last 10 years
and together they put in 100 hours of fitness training throughout the
season, either at tournaments or when Federer is at home in
Switzerland. They do a combination of strength and endurance work,
circuit training, running and a wide range of exercises designed to
practice all the movements Federer is likely to make on a tennis court.
Prior to a
big tournament they will work for 10 hours a week or more, depending on
the surface he is going to play on, but Paganini says he never hears so
much as a murmur of fuss from Federer. "Roger
is a pleasure and a privilege to work with," said Paganini. "He never
complains about having to work hard as long as he understands why he is
doing it. He asks me what we are doing and why and then he gets to
work. He knows that he is talented and that the fitness work we do is
going to bring that talent through. "He's
always been the same. You can have all the shots but if you aren't
there in time it doesn't matter and Roger knows that. Even when I am
really tough on him he never stops working and he never wants to stop.
That's the kind of man he is and that's why he is a champion. He really
is an amazing person."
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