Roger Federer: "You never know how healthy he is," says ex-coach Annacone
Roger Federer's ex-coach, Paul Annacone, still believes his former protégé can win a Wimbledon.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Feb 22, 2020, 11:04 am
"I'm not ready to write him off yet. If you look at his balance sheet on grass and see how unique his game for grass is, I see no reason why he can't win Wimbledon yet," Annacone told the New York Times .
Federer announced on Thursday morning that he had undergone an arthroscopic surgery on his right knee after having had problems with it for some time. Federer also announced that it would not return until the lawn season.
Most recently, the Swiss had fought at the Australian Open in the semi-finals, "on the gums", as Annacone describes it. "But he was there and those are the moments that all the big players live for." Federer had made up 4: 8 behind in the match set tie break of the fifth set against the Australian John Millman in round 3, then fought off seven match balls in the quarterfinals against Tennys Sandgren. In this match, the 38-year-old was visibly stricken and had to be treated in the right groin area.
Roger Federer - a careful decision maker
The surgery on the right knee was all the more surprising since Federer had not mentioned these problems until now. No wonder Annacone thinks. Federer rarely talks about his injuries, "so you never know how healthy he is." And further: "We always take it for granted, the way he plays, that he is pretty healthy," said the 56-year-old. But Federer often grits his teeth.
That Federer decided to have an intervention seems to be a good sign when you hear the ex-coach speak. "He is a very careful decision maker," said Annacone. "He looks at everything from the big picture - what gives him the greatest chance of staying really healthy for a long period of time." In his experience, of course, the older you get, the more difficult it is to come back, Annacone said. "But these all-time greats are the exception, not the rule. So you run the risk of predicting what could happen - in both positive and negative terms. People already had each other in 2010, when I started working with him asked when he will resign. "
Annacone and Federer ended their collaboration in 2013; Federer celebrated his 17 Grand Slam title with the ex-coach of Pete Sampras in Wimbledon in 2012 - he also suffered from back problems during the tournament. In 2017 and 2018 Federer set his best with two victories at the Australian Open and one at Wimbledon on 20th title at the major tournaments.