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January 13, 2011
Federer can reach his top 20, says coach
By Linda Pearce, Sydney Morning Herald
While Paul Annacone jokes that he has to pinch himself each morning - so immense is the privilege of association with two of the finest players of all time - the coach who has helped to preside over Roger Federer's recent mini-renaissance insists the Swiss is being realistic when he talks of winning 20 majors.
Annacone, who guided Pete Sampras for the eight years before the American's retirement in 2002 and joined Federer's team in August, was reluctant to predict how many more grand slam singles titles the defending Australian Open champion can add to his record of 16.
But 20? Well, why not?
''I haven't thought all that much about it and I don't think Roger spends a lot of his waking hours dwelling on it, but I think when you're as gifted an athlete as he is, you can play at such a high level without expending an incredible amount of energy,'' Annacone said. ''I mean, he works hard at it, but if you watch him play matches it's pretty amazing to watch how he glides through things.
''So when you combine all those things, he can win a lot, and it's hard for me to put a number on it, so really what I focus on is the process, and I don't mean to dodge the question because I'm not - the thing is, he can win every tournament he plays. He's probably not going to, but if you look at how good he is, he can win every time he plays. There's not a lot of guys you can say that about, so if he can stay healthy and happy and eager and continue on the process that he's on, I don't know what the end number would be, but is 20 realistic? Sure, why not?''
Federer's success at Melbourne Park a year ago was his most recent in a major, and his quarter-final loss to Robin Soderling at the French was his first before the semi-final stage at one of the Big Four in six years. Annacone was employed on a trial after the 29-year-old failed to reach the Wimbledon final for the first time since 2002.
He claimed minor late-season titles in Stockholm and Basel, and dominated the elite field at the ATP World Tour Finals in London, as experts hailed his bolder approach generally, but especially on a defensive backhand return that rivals had begun to exploit.
The revival has continued into this year, with a first-up tournament win in Doha last week, and there is nothing about Federer's Open preparation that Annacone would change.
''He's been focused on trying to be aggressive and trying to find ways to use his offensive skills a little more prominently,'' confirmed Annacone, who insisted there had not been ''a whole lot wrong'' with Federer's game despite the world No.2's slightly lesser results in mid-2010. ''I'm not inventing sliced bread here; the guy's won 16 grand slam titles, so a lot of it is implementation and being comfortable, which he's done really well with.
''I would say the majority of the things we speak about are strategic in nature, and philosophical - about ways to approach different players, different situations.
''It's about combining the head, heart and talent components of a player … and ultimately as a coach at this level the best way is for them to keep having fun doing it and to continue to try to get better, and I still think that if you're not trying to get better, no matter how good you are, you're getting worse, cos everybody else is getting better.''
The American, who will be a keynote speaker at today's fourth annual Australian grand slam coaches' conference, said the perils of comparing players from different eras compelled him to ''take the fifth [amendment]'' when asked which of Sampras and Federer was the better player.
The shame, he said, was that the pair could not have played each other over an extended period when both were at their best, having shared not just commanding serves and forehands but a sense of perspective that is easy to lose when expectations are so high.
Yet where Sampras was emotionally drained by the end of his career, Annacone sees in Federer a surprising level of energy and exuberance, coupled with a desire to keep winning, thirst to improve and enduring love of the game, the travel, all of it. He has been welcomed by, and works well with, Federer's long-time friend, Davis Cup captain and co-coach Severin Luthi as the newest member of a close-knit team.
''For me, I kind of got put in a great situation,'' Annacone said. ''I wish I could say it was me, but I used to tell everybody this when I coached Pete: when he won I'd always say, 'Gosh, he's finally listening to me, you know' and when he'd lose I'd say, 'Jeez, he just won't listen', so I guess I should try to say the same thing with Roger. But in all seriousness, it's been great so far.''
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