Federer fitness coach Paganini: "Notice since July that he has to make more and more detours"
Pierre Paganini is one of the biggest contributors to Roger Federer's amazing career. The legendary fitness coach spoke now about the last few weeks.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Sep 18, 2022, 02:11 pm
Pierre Paganini has been at Federer's side since the beginning of the tour and has repeatedly made the 20-time major champion fit for the big victories.
And of course the 64-year-old has also been a key man in recent months when it came to getting Federer fit for his comeback after the third operation on his right knee.
Paganini was not surprised that Federer announced his resignation on Thursday . As a long-time confidant, you know what Federer thinks, you have felt the direction things are going in the past few weeks. "It doesn't happen spontaneously on Thursday at quarter past three," he said in an interview with Swiss Blick .
"Since July, when he started combining the different training elements, he noticed that he had to make more and more detours and put in extra effort. He had to make greater efforts for relatively low intensity," says Paganini. The Federer's announcement as a "clever decision". "He's had to put in an incredible amount of effort in recent years to compete at world-class level." It is "a miracle" how Federer has mastered this over the past five years - considering the many training sessions that a 41-year-old top athlete has already gone through.
Paganini on Federer: "You can also decide when it's too much"
Federer himself had repeatedly spoken in recent years about wanting to fix his knee, above all for his future life - Paganini also knows that the maestro can also live out his passion after his career. "We don't want him to get injured again and then have physical problems in his future. In top-class sport you have to go to the limits in training - but you also have to be able to decide when it's too much."
As someone who has known Federer for so long - since he was 14 - Paganini can of course also assess whether and how Federer has changed over time. He's matured, of course. "But man is still the same. He still has the same big heart as then."