Roger Federer thanks American and Swiss coaches Paul Annacone and Severin Luthi after Barclay’s ATP World Tour Finals victory
World Number 2 Roger Federer recently defeated top player Spaniard Rafael Nadal at the Barclay’s ATP World Tour Finals, setting up a final score line of 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. With this victory, he has added 1500 points to his position on the charts and has won
a record five end of year tournament titles.
However, although the achievements are no doubt noteworthy, the Swiss phenomenon has retained his down to earth personality and lack of pride. The 29 year old player, who has won 16 Grand Slam titles and is going to attempt a 17th win in January
2011 at the Australian Open, is one of the few players of the sport who seem to have a solid grip over qualities of true sportsmanship, which explains his multiple Stefan Edburg Sportsmanship Awards.
Roger Federer proved that he is indeed a true sportsman once again in the week after his Barclay’s ATP World Tour Finals title match. After he won the match for the fifth time in a row, Federer thanked the two people who were largely responsible for his
victory. These men are his American coach Paul Annacone who also worked with American legend Pete Sampras, and his Swiss coach and friend Severin Luthi. Since Roger Federer has begun training under Pete Sampras’s old coach, he has reached six finals of different
tournaments and his win loss rate is 35 wins to 4 losses.
The Swiss player admits that due to his disappointing clay and Wimbledon season, he had suffered from a lack of confidence. The player, who lost all three Grand Slams after his Australian Open success, took major hits where his self-assurance was concerned.
He says, “I had to regain some confidence. That only comes through winning matches.” He adds that this was crucial for his game, saying, “I wasn’t able to win any tournaments and didn’t play my best tennis, played a bit passive, it was important that I was
able to pick up my game.”
His victory certainly seems to have encouraged this. He confirmed that he has started moving better, and been feeling well both physically and mentally. He credits his coaches for this achievement, saying, “I’m sure Paul has helped in this regard. So has
Severin. That's why I'm very happy with my team at this stage of the season."
Federer who will turn 30 on his next birthday also confirmed that he does not have any plans to retire and wants to play for “many more years”. He also says that he will bring his newly reacquired confidence onto the court in Melbourne and is excited by
the prospect of defending his title. He also feels that he and Nadal have very bright chances of taking over 2011. To this effect, the player said, “Obviously with Rafa having won three Grand Slams in a row, [it] seems like not many people [are] stopping him.
Now that I've found back to my best form as well, when I'm on that's a hard thing to do as well. I think tennis, the men's game, is at an absolute high right now.”
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