After 3 Years Roger Federer Has Parted Ways With Coach Paul Annacone

Good move. Try something new if what’s on offer is not working. Who next though?….

October 12th, 2013 at 7:26 pm

Wow…very interesting…especially since Fed was the one to announce it.

October 12th, 2013 at 9:26 pm

I think Roger has taken a wise decision although it is a bit late in my opinion. He should have done this much earlier. Now, the onerous job before Roger is to find a new Coach. Well in his hey days, he was such a perfectionist that he could afford to play without a coach. But not anymore !!

October 12th, 2013 at 11:21 pm

I think fed hired Annacone after Wimbledon 2010. So he hasn’t won AO 2010 under Annacone. Wimbledon 2012 was his only slam win with Annacone

whatever, i feel fed should have kept a coach during 2008-2010. Almost 3 valuable years without a coach….. Maybe he thought hes too genius that he could play without a coach. But having a coach on your side doesn’t hurt, right?

October 12th, 2013 at 11:46 pm

Ofcourse, having a coach doesn’t hurt but it costs lot of money. Right ??

October 13th, 2013 at 12:27 am

I think Roger is rich enough

October 13th, 2013 at 12:51 am

Next Coach? How about Coach by commitee?
Sampras, Agassi and Laver.
Or…..
Nobody. Hasn’t Fed won a Slam without a Coach? Who else has done that in this era???

October 13th, 2013 at 1:08 am

i hear jimmy connors is available. that would be a hilarious mix.

October 13th, 2013 at 1:11 am

Hasn’t Fed won a Slam without a Coach? Who else has done that in this era???
—
When you have your Davis cup captain with you but don’t call him a coach, does that make you a genius.

If that’s true, then I have never had a coach. Only loving uncle.

October 13th, 2013 at 1:26 am

Fed already has a coach and that is Luthi, who has been a part of the fed team forever.

A little surprised to hear this news to be honest, but I think that it all seems amicable:

“When we started together we had a vision of a three-year plan to win another Grand Slam title and get back to the number No1 ranking. Along with many other goals and great memories, these two main goals were achieved,” Federer said in a statement.

“After numerous conversations culminating at the end of our most recent training block, we felt like this was the best time and path for both of us.

“Paul remains a dear friend, and we both look forward to continuing our friendship. I want to thank Paul for his help and the value he has added to me and my team,”.

I used to see many photos of Paul holding the twins at tournaments. How strange that will be too, for them, not seeing him on a regular basis.

Feelings run deep. I would be really surprised if Fed did get another “coach”.

He won a large majority of his slams, “coachless”, if you look at his early career.

But clearly, the partnership isn’t working right now, because his game isn’t work right now.

Something had to give.

October 13th, 2013 at 4:16 am

May be he is thinking one more year, tops, two more years – and it would be great if Cahill stepped up, but he has too many tv commitments now – good to wonder though.

October 13th, 2013 at 4:18 am

Interesting decision, to say the least. Thing is though, he can’t rely on skill and talent any more if he wants to compete at the major events. Fed did win Wimbbledon 2007 without a coach (and while Luthi was absent I think) and without any form of grass warm-up tournament. That will not be possible this time.

October 13th, 2013 at 6:20 am

I think a very wise move. In my opinion, long over-due. Whatever he had planned for Roger, obviously has not worked, and its time for a new challenge. Go for it Roger!

October 13th, 2013 at 6:40 am

I feel Roger would do better without a Coach than with.

October 13th, 2013 at 8:19 am

We all know that Roger is stubborn as a mule. And I too, think it is a decision, long overdue.

Roger should get hold of a sports psychologist now and work on the mind, and the confidence. It is not too late Josh. Nothing ever is. Everything is a possibility in life. If you are prepared to put the effort and the hard work in, and so far as we know, Roger is prepared to do this.

He is someone who needs that extra kick in a couple of directions. I think Mirka will be all that he needs in that direction.

She is the strongest voice in his team, for certain.

October 13th, 2013 at 11:27 am

Annacone’s getting back together with Pete for one more slam. Sampras wants to beat Federer in a slam final and put all doubt to rest as to who the GOAT really is.

October 13th, 2013 at 11:38 am

Lol SG1

October 13th, 2013 at 11:43 am

Yes, the winner to play Rafa.

(Paul Anaconda is not the problem but is easier to fire than those he lost to, no?)

October 13th, 2013 at 12:14 pm

This firing Annacone stuff is pretty much par for the course for a pro athlete. Someone has to get the blame. The truth is, I never saw Annacone as a good fit for Federer. Sampras and Annacone were both attacking (get to the net) kind of players. I think Federer needs someone more tactical in his corner. I actually think Connors would not be all that bad an idea (if Fed is thinking of hiring a coach). Fed works hard and still has the talent. Jimmy was the type of guy who was great at altering tactics and played an all court game. The synergies seem pretty good. Assuming the egos are not in the way, I think there’s stuff that Fed could get out of a relationship with Jimmy. Another guy I would consider would be Mats Wilander.

October 13th, 2013 at 1:58 pm

And I think Jimmy may have won a slam in his 30’s (his last USO in ’83, maybe). He did get to the finals of Wimbledon in ’84 but he was smoked in one of the most awesome displays of tennis this side of mortaldom.

October 13th, 2013 at 2:04 pm

Mats and Fed would be an awesome combo.

October 13th, 2013 at 2:11 pm

Agree with you Madmax, a psychologist to work on his mind and confidence is just what he needs right now. I think he should defnately go for another coach, and I’m confident that by next year, we’ll see a different Federer – a winning Roger!!!

October 13th, 2013 at 3:50 pm

Too late for coach changes. He needed a good one in 2008 to help him adjust his game to Nadal. He was too arrogant to do that. No coach can turn back the clock.

October 13th, 2013 at 5:12 pm

i think federer should hire either chris everett, martina navritalova, darren cahill or jimmy conners. they all feel he needs to change to a bigger racquet so as to get more power with his groundstrokes. i think it was darren cahill who said, with a smaller racquet head, federer has to create the power, but w/a bigger head the racquet basically does it for you, except you have to control it more. they seem to analyze his game so well & everett has said (don’t quote me), that federer’s natural talents w/shot making have waned somewhat & he needs to be patient & grind it out more & then go for his shots. i’m certainly not a tennis expert, but listening to the above people (with the exception of conners, haven’t heard him say anything about federer),they all feel he has another slam in him if he changes his game up to fit todays players. for sure, they all agree he needs a bigger racquet head, so does sampras. whatever he needs i hope he gets it in 2014. love watching this guy play. not saying he’s the goat, but he is certainly the most graceful of all time & it is a joy to watch. so much diversity which you don’t see much anymore.

October 13th, 2013 at 5:46 pm

Fed needs Agassi. Agassi was the master of stronke selection.

October 13th, 2013 at 6:47 pm

@SG1 right you are Connors won the 82 and 83 USO finals against Lendl at ages 30 and 31. the only other player that old to win one since has been sampras.

@Sheila well then he’ll need a coach who can give him a back transplant. in order to play a more grinding style all of your body parts need to be up to the task. i mean check out AO 2013. Fed played to physical matches on a medium slow hard court. he won the first in 5 tough sets against Tsonga and then lost in 5 very physical sets to Murray and he has not been the same since.

October 13th, 2013 at 10:54 pm

darren cahill would be a great choice though

October 13th, 2013 at 10:54 pm

Perhaps he should hire Wilander to show him as having balls. is a joke, fed fans.
Gil Reyes can be a good decision to make.

October 13th, 2013 at 11:35 pm

Roger is not fortunate as Rafa to have some one who is so near and dear as his Coach. It is such kind of a fatherly figure that you need especially when your career is at cross roads. One may remember Borg’s famed association with Lennart Bergelin who acted not just as a coach, but as a Mentor, a guide and as an important member of his family. You need such an personal bond to take you through. I hope Roger emerges succesful in hiring such a coach in these troubled times. That will help him a great deal to recover from the dumps that he is presently in.

October 14th, 2013 at 12:22 am

I think Roger will rope in Mcenroe….

Roger: Johnny….make me win the calender slam in 2014.

John: Roger….”U cannot be serious”….huh!!

;) :))

October 14th, 2013 at 1:09 am

Agassi is the man. Brilliant court positioning, brilliant strategy, agressive baseliner, climbed to No. 1 at age 33, Has played Roger so can bring in an oppnent’s perspective – and is fairly recent, so he knows what the game is about (Wilander?? the guy couldn’t be top 10 today, even at his peak).

October 14th, 2013 at 9:11 am

The only thing I like about Agassi is his wife.

October 14th, 2013 at 9:20 am

I’m not doing well. Let’s blame the coach and sack him. It’s definitely not me, it’s him.

October 14th, 2013 at 10:55 am

I like how he’s got his Davis Cup captain working for him, but doesn’t need to return the favor at all by committing to play DC.

Meanwhile Stan has to carry the team.

October 14th, 2013 at 11:00 am

IMO, Fed should dispense with Luthi. He seems like a yes man (and babysitter and teddy bear carrier). Perhaps he needs someone who has won a slam and comes with an in-built understanding that other coaches can’t provide.

If he can’t find an ex-slam champ maybe Stefanki? I don’t think Cahill is going to take the job regardless of it being Roger.

October 14th, 2013 at 12:16 pm

Wilander was a cerebral player. He figured out how to beat Lendl, a player more physical and powerful than he was. I think Mats would be a great choice for Federer. Whether or not Wilander would be top 10 today or not is irrelevant. Mats was one of the best of his time and may give Fed some valuable insight. And a bigger racket wouldn’t be a bad start for Federer he needs more punch in his game. I suspect this will be at least one of the major changes he’ll make for 2014.

October 14th, 2013 at 12:51 pm

Maybe fed wants to do the last lap on his own without a coach. Have you guys thought of that?

October 14th, 2013 at 1:30 pm

Unless it’s Cahill, I agree with Giles. More likely he wants to go it alone.

Although extremely unlikely, the only American I’d like to see in Fed’s corner and IMO the only American with a remote chance of clicking with Fed IMO would be Sampras. He went though the same struggle Fed is going through now.

October 14th, 2013 at 5:33 pm

Job requirements:

http://pseudofedblog.com/2013/10/13/top-coach-needed/

(looks like I needn’t apply)

October 15th, 2013 at 12:17 pm

I agree hawkeye. Unlikely pair up with Fed and Sampras. If they did though, that would be a whole lot of slams on one team (a whopping 31). It would be a lot of fun to see them together at tournaments, rallying together. Talk about a good draw for the practice courts.

I do think a good coach would help Fed a little. Being 4 or 5 years younger would help a lot.

October 15th, 2013 at 12:34 pm

I have to admit that I’d pay money to watch them practice together.

October 15th, 2013 at 12:34 pm

SG1, did you see any of the exhos they played in Asia a few years ago?

That was fun to watch. Fed threw the last match to Pete out of respect.

October 15th, 2013 at 12:38 pm

Yup. I watched them (not live though). I agree that Fed didn’t have the pedal to metal. Pete still looked pretty good in spots. On the really fast surface where he won, his serve still looked pretty lethal. Fed was still coming off mono that year so that probably didn’t help him either.

October 15th, 2013 at 12:57 pm

Fed and Sampras, wouldn’t that be something? Roger will have to be brave and perhaps step out of his comfort zone to find a permanent coach though.

October 15th, 2013 at 8:15 pm

Being Federer’s coach at this time is a high risk job. If he fails, he is likely to be blamed by most of Federer’s fans. Add to that the fact that the chances of Federer winning another major or even a masters event, regardless of who is coaching him, has gotten rather slim.

October 15th, 2013 at 8:31 pm

Roger doesn’t need a coach. All he needs is come out from his self denial and takes someone time out from the tour. Imo, playing exhibition is better for him, good paying, crowd loves and less stress.

October 16th, 2013 at 2:40 am

[…] Federer coachless at the moment after letting Paul Annacone go after the US Open, there is some speculation that maybe the 6-time Grand Slam champion Edberg might take over the […]

December 17th, 2013 at 5:02 pm