Paul Annacone, the celebrated former coach of Roger Federer has finally disclosed the big secret behind the Swiss superstar’s success.
According to Annacone, who coached Federer from 2010 and 2014, the 36-year-old’s ability to stay emotionally detached in high profile contests is the reason why he is possibly the greatest player of all time.
Annacone also mentored Pete Sampras and Tim Henman at various junctures of their careers on the ATP tour before joining Federer’s team as head coach. And the American revealed that the same quality was quite evident in those two players as well.
Federer has extended his Grand Slam record to 19 after capturing the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 2017. Annacone has found out why the Basel native has continued to win Majors despite being in his mid-30s.
“All three of those guys had an amazing understanding of their own skill set,” Annacone told Express Sport.
“An understanding of what they do incredibly well.
“Sure, their talents are off the charts, so that’s one thing. But the second thing was they understood the strength of what they do on the tennis court.
“They know what they’re best at and they give themselves continued opportunities in the most pressure-filled situations to win or lose doing what they do well.
“Then if they lose they’re very pragmatic about it, because they try to use their biggest strengths in the biggest moments.
“And either on that day they didn’t get over the line, or the other guys was too good.
“So they can absorb the pain of the loss and then go back to the drawing board, go ‘OK this is what happened’.
“There’s a very strategic, meticulous process that they go through.
“They do love the victories and the pain of the defeats do sting.
“But not so much that they are drowning in either of those emotions.”
