“After dinner, Roger Federer would swing by my room” – Former coach opens up about how Swiss prepared for a match

Roger Federer's former coach Paul Annacone recently opened up about how the Swiss prepared for a match under him.

Annacone steered Federer's career as head coach between the years 2010 and 2013. During the said period, the Swiss won two Year-end Championships (2010, 2011) and also won the Wimbledon Championships in 2012.

In a recent conversation with Rock n Roll Tennis podcast, Annacone shed light on how he and Federer prepared for a match during any given tournament. He revealed that the Swiss would practice swings inside his room the night before the scheduled match.

"Roger was a little different earlier on in our relationship. We did watch a bunch of video, usually the night before. That probably went on for six months or so. But what Roger would the night before, you know, after dinner, he'd swing by my room," Annacone said. (23:30 onwards)

The American coach further revealed that their meetings before a contest were brief and didn't stretch beyond 20 minutes.

"I would pick out three or four themes beforehand of what I wanted him to be aware of. He would come to the room and we would point it out on video something that he did or against someone he’s about to play the next day, some patterns to think about," he said. "But it was not a 17-hour debate. Literally, it was probably 15-20 minutes with Roger’s questions and answers, things that have been good in the past and then reinforcing it the next day right before they play just five or ten minutes."

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"Roger Federer would converse a little more, a little more dialogue, a little more information... Pete Sampras was more like, 'Okay, give me the themes'" - Paul Annacone

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In the same conversation with Rock n Roll Tennis podcast, Paul Annacone further weighed in on the contribution of Roger Federer's long-time coach Severin Luthi, and fitness coach Pierre Paganini.

"Myself, Roger, and Severin, it was awesome. I mean, I never. I would have had nearly the impact I did if Severin wasn't there to help me be part of that team with Roger. Those guys were great. And Pierre Paganini was just a magician and is a magician in terms of strength and conditioning," he said.

Annacone also compared the differences in coaching Federer and 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras.

"Roger would converse a little more, a little more dialogue, a little more information. Pete was more like, okay, give me the themes. Let's talk about it pretty clearly, pretty succinctly, flush all the emotion out of it. Got the game plan. Let's go. So he was more just about getting out and doing it," he added.