After leading Pete Sampras towards tennis immortals, Paul Annacone got the opportunity to work with another legend from 2010, becoming Roger's Federer coach and leading the Swiss towards the Wimbledon trophy.
Sharing his thoughts about Federer's return, Annacone said that his former pupil loves the game and enjoys the environment it brings. Annacone reminded that Federer has been at the top for many years, battling with the pressure of being '
Roger Federer.'
The 39-year-old skipped almost the entire 2020 season due to a knee injury, undergoing surgeries in February and May and not playing for 13 months. Roger missed the Australian Open and made a long-awaited return in Doha, losing in the quarter-final to Nikoloz Basilashvili in three sets after wasting a match point.
"Roger loves the game and enjoys the environment. He has been at the top of the game for many years, and he accepts and enjoys the responsibility of being 'Roger Federer' - that sounds easy, but it is not. It doesn't take a ton out of Federer and Sampras to play at the level most players can't even reach. When you add Federer's pragmatic approach, the roller coaster of emotions tied to winning and losing tends not to surface in his life. He is pretty steady," Paul Annacone said.