20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer’s former coach Tony Roche has disclosed the big secret behind the 36-year-old’s success.
Roche, who coached the Basel native between 2005 and 2007, claimed that Federer’s decision to change his racquet, he went from 90 to 97 square inches, is the main factor behind his dominance in recent years.
Federer made a spectacular comeback from a six-month injury layoff in 2017, winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns and rising to No. 2 in the ATP rankings. Yet again, Roger began his 2018 season in stunning fashion, capturing his sixth Australian Open title by beating Marin Cilic of Croatia in Melbourne.
And Roche believes Federer can continue to dominate men’s tennis at least for a few more years.
“I just tried to instil in Roger that to win slams, obviously, you got to win seven matches and sometimes you gotta win in five (sets),” Roche told Australian media outlet Herald Sun.
“Not being in great form shouldn’t be an excuse. Our practice sessions were pretty full on and I like to think he enjoyed that, he didn’t complain.
“Why not? I think last year, some of the matches that he’s played, were some of the best matches he’s played. He made a really smart move changing to a larger racquet — that helped him.
“Look, Roger’s not lucky but to go through your tennis career and not have major injuries is a testament to the way he plays. Roger doesn’t take anything out of himself with the way he plays. It’s a little bit like the way Kenny Rosewall played.
“He went and played until he was 42 years old or something. Roger is so fluent and I don’t think Ken had any major injuries until maybe right at the end. Whereas a lot of the guys, the way they play puts so much pressure on their bodies.
“With Roger, he plays the way the game should be played — the Australian way.”
The Swiss star can regain the top rank in the official ATP rankings if he manages to reach the semifinals or better at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam next week.
