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January 7, 2006
How Christmas with Tony Roche gave Federer the gift he wanted most
By Margie McDonald, The Australian
IT was December 2004 and Roger
Federer had won three of the year's four Grand Slams. But he felt
something was missing and he knew who could give it to him: Tony Roche.
Having already been rebuffed once by the coaching guru, Federer still flew to Sydney to meet Roche.
It was that persistence, Roche revealed publicly for the first time
yesterday, and the fact the Swiss star was prepared to give up
Christmas at home to practise with him that helped convince the
Australian to change his mind and take Federer under his wing.
Roche, 60, farewelled the tennis circuit full-time after Pat
Rafter's retirement in 2002. He coached Ivan Lendl to eight Grand Slam
singles titles and Rafter to two. He initially said "no" to Federer
when they met in Dubai in October 2004 to train together and discuss a
possible link-up.
"I wanted to do it in the first place but I just felt I wasn't
able to give him the time he would require and what he deserved, and I
didn't want to let him down," Roche said in a rare interview yesterday.
"... there was also the thing of being on the road for so long again."
But Federer wasn't to be denied and asked if he could join Roche at his Sydney home in December to train with him.
"When he came out here he said 'whatever time you can give me
I'd be happy with'," Roche said. "And I just thought it was such a
great honour, in lots of ways, to be approached by Roger in the first
place.
"I thought, 'Gee, he's come all the way out here the week
before Christmas and sacrificed that. Maybe I should give it a shot and
see how it goes'."
Federer said this week he understood that Roche declined his
offer but he could not let go of the chance to learn from the
Australian.
"It's very simple to me," Federer said from Doha, where he is
playing in the Qatar Open. "It's just the experience he has from seeing
so many matches, from playing at the highest level himself and seeing
the greats like Lendl, Rafter and all the players who played against
them.
"He spends a lot of time talking on the practice courts. It's that quality time together, this is what brings me further.
"What he knows about the game and what I know about the game, when that comes together it's very pleasing."
Thus another partnership between a world No.1 was forged.
So what is it about Roche, born in Tarcutta, in southern NSW,
in May 1945, that makes some of the world's most talented players seek
his services?
He doesn't sign contracts, which did not faze the meticulous Lendl in the least.
"Tony is a man of his word and we did not need any documents,"
Lendl said from Florida this week. "Just his word was good enough for
me."
Fred Stolle said a close understanding between coach and player
is a Roche trademark. "The first thing is the respect from the guys
that he coaches," Stolle said.
"With Lendl, he specifically got him to try to volley better so
he could win Wimbledon. Tony tried to teach him how to work his way
into the net, because Lendl was not a natural volleyer, and he got
close to getting him a Wimbledon [title].
"With Federer, he's got Rochey to try to get him to win the
French Open. That means he's got to slice a little more,
serve-and-volley on more occasions on the clay.
"Both those players knew what he was trying to do for them and
they respected him. Tony's not trying to change anybody's game; he's
trying to add elements to their game."
Roche has juggled two low-key coaching/training duties
alongside Federer: India's Sania Mirza, as a favour to his former Davis
Cup friend, Jaideep Mukherjea, and young Sydneysider Sophie Ferguson,
both 18, but would no doubt apply the same principles to all three.
Lendl, as well as Federer, spoke of the strong friendship that came as a result of working with Roche.
"Tony is great with feel for the player on and off the court," Lendl said. "We never looked at any films or matches.
"The best part of Tony as a coach was that he was a great player and was in the pressure situations and knew how to handle them.
"As a person Tony was just a great guy and a great friend ... he would let me win at golf most of the time."
Federer was attracted by the experience Roche had as a player --
he won the French and Italian Open (1966) on clay, reached the final of
Wimbledon (1968, losing to Rod Laver) and the semi-finals of the
Australian Open (1969) on grass and was twice runner-up at the US Open
(1969-70) on a hardcourt -- and as a coach.
Their association has produced two more Grand Slam titles for Federer: Wimbledon and the US Open last year.
John Alexander who, like Stolle, joined Roche in
championship-winning Davis Cup teams in the 1960s and 70s, believes
Roche represents what the game lost when sports scientists,
biomechanists, psychologists "and other gurus" got involved 20 years
ago.
"The game used to pass from one generation of great tennis
players to the next," Alexander said. "Your tutors were great tennis
players. Wherever you see 'a Tony Roche' involved with somebody, you
have great results."
Roche was coached by one of the best, Harry Hopman, who won
three Australian Open doubles titles and then as captain of the Davis
Cup team guided Australia to 15 victories from 1950-1969, including
three with Roche in his team.
"Tony, in Harry Hopman's care, got to appreciate the physical
fitness side of tennis, and the development of your game in going for
your shots, regardless of the score," Alexander said. "He was a
thoughtful and cunning tennis player himself and he brought that to
Rafter, Lendl, and now Roger.
"If you wanted to find out where the holes were in a player
ranked between 20 or 40 in the world, you would watch Tony Roche play
them and you'd be surprised how simple he made the lesson on how to
beat someone."
When Roche started to coach Davis Cup, Mark Woodforde said proudly he gravitated towards Roche.
"When I wasn't (on court), just sitting with Rochey in the
stands ... I just wanted to suck the information right out of him,"
Woodforde said. "He had so much to tell you but he never sat there
saying, 'listen to me'. (But) it was so easy to ask questions.
"He's got old school in him; he fully expected you to put in
the hard work, not just to have quality practice sessions, but put in
the quantity as well."
And although Roche looks the serious, silent-type in the
players' box, Federer paints a different picture away from the public
eye.
"Tony is a very relaxed guy, a very funny guy," Federer said.
"I was surprised how funny he was, actually. It's always a good time
when we're together, it's never boring travelling with him. He's had so
much experience as a human being, as a person."
Additional reporting: Andrew McGarry
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