Paul Annacone talked to Roger Federer’s coach Severin Luthi in Tennis Channel’s Coaching in the Bigs’ series.
Luthi and Annacone coached Federer together for four years from 2010 to 2013.
Annacone asked Luthi how Federer was doing during the lockdown.
“For Roger, it is not necessary to be hitting balls too much. The volley challenge that he put up on social media was more for fun, there is no stress on him to practice a lot as there is time for tournaments to start”, said Luthi.
Luthi was asked whether there was anything about Roger Federer that most fans don’t know.
“Roger is a funny and nice guy. He is funnier than most people might think. Not too many people know that. Most people only know how good he is in tennis”.
Annacone said that most people don’t know how hard Roger works on the court.
“It’s almost unfair that Roger makes things look so easy. What you see is what you get from him. Most people don’t know how hard and smart he works so that we get to watch his magical stuff on the court”, said Annacone.
Luthi said that Federer is still working very hard at 38.
“What’s fascinating for me is that he is still doing that stuff at 38. He is asking himself those questions. You need to analyse and ask yourself the right questions. You need to look forward again. He steps up for the next game and next practice. I have learnt a lot of things from him”, said Luthi.
Federer did not convert two championships points in the epic Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic last July and lost the match in five sets.
“Sometimes you win matches you should not. Sometimes you lose matches you shouldn’t. It is all about not getting too negative on yourself. You would get a second chance”.
