Federer sounds off about on-court coaching

Written by: Staff on 13th March 2014

Federer sounds off about on-court coaching

epa04124474 Roger Federer from Switzerland in action against Kevin Anderson from South Africa at the BNP Paribas Open tennis in Indian Wells, California, USA, 13 March 2014. EPA/MICHAEL NELSON |

By Ricky Dimon

In this kind of form, Roger Federer may not even need a coach. He certainly would not want one on the court in between games.

Federer improved to 18-2 this season with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Kevin Anderson in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday night. The world No. 8 will go up against Alexandr Dolgopolov in Saturday’s semis.

Afterward, Federer was asked about on-court coaching in women’s tennis. Even more than usual, this fortnight has featured session after session of coaches taking their talents (or lack thereof?) to the court only to see their players go on epic losing streaks immediately thereafter. That happened on more than one occasion in a wild quarterfinal between Flavia Pennetta and Sloane Stephens a few hours before Federer faced Anderson.

“I really hope it doesn’t,” Federer said when asked about the possibility of on-court coaching infiltrating the men’s game. “I really do. Hanging on. If it does happen, it’s hopefully after I’m done playing.

“I really don’t think it’s necessary. I don’t think it’s fair…because not everybody can afford a coach. We’ll see girlfriends walking out, we’ll see parents walking out. It’s not going to be pretty. It just won’t. It will look amateur‑like, in my opinion. Yeah, I hope we’ll stay as far away from that idea.”

As for the ideas of Federer’s current coach, Stefan Edberg, whatever they are, they’re working. The 32-year-old Swiss is on a 10-match winning streak and he is also still alive in the Indian Wells doubles semifinals with Stanislas Wawrinka.

“It’s cool to figure it out yourself,” Federer concluded.

Topics: 10sballs, Alexandr Dolgopolov, BNP Paribas Open, Flavia Pennetta, Indian Wells, Kevin Anderson, Roger Federer, Sloane Stephens, Stanislas Wawrinka, Stefan Edberg, Tennis, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

March 13, 2014 at 11:14 pm

Federer sounds off about on-court coaching – http://t.co/pr5yK3Zt7s @rogerfederer #Tennis #News #BNPParibasOpen #IndianWells