Federer seems to have been practising with a new coach recently-reports

http://uk.reuters.com/article/tennisNews/i...nisNews&sp=true

That's interesting. Not sure what to make of this - whether Higueras is likely to work with Federer for the whole clay season? It somehow seems unlikely to me that he would become a full-time coach for the whole year, but I guess we'll see.

Well a tleast Fed is trying to get some advice and input now so that's positive. :)

Can only be a good thing even if Federer is probably the best player ever,
his confidence and mental state at the moment really needs a boost esp.going into the clay season .

Let's hope this helps him get a good start to the clay season. I really want Roger to win the French this year! :pray:

Good move just like Murray with Corretja.

The fact that he has made moves to seek out someone,and the fact that Roger has taken the decsion to employ a specialist for the clay events which I reckon is better than having a full time coach for all surfaces all year round.

Clay for me is a game within a game as it is still very different to tennis on any other surface.

Just having someone to bounce off verbally should take some weight of the Federer psyche and it may inject him with renewed zeal.

Coach Class: Federer begins Higueras trial

By Bill Scott

ESTORIL, Portugal—Roger Federer has unveiled a no-longer-secret weapon for his 2008 clay campaign, which began this week at the Estoril Open.
As he plays at the relatively small ATP tournament on the red dirt for the first time since lifting the Munich trophy in 2003, the No. 1 will have Spanish master Jose Higueras in his corner.

After a few fruitless days of trying to keep the experimental arrangement under wraps – not easy when several thousand applauding fans watched the pair work out on the showcourt at the Estadio Nacional at the weekend – Federer released his worst-kept secret to the world.

"Jose is gonna do this week and we will see how it goes from here," said the 12-time Grand Slam winner, speaking the reporters on the opening day of the event. "It's just all starting, I'm happy he's here."

Federer said that this week in Portugal – his professional debut in the nation – could lead to further collaboration with Higueras.

"We'll have to see how this arrangement goes. It's pretty open at the moment. But he won't to 30-40 weeks a year. That's not what he really wants.

"It's a similar arrangement like it was with Tony Roche – but first we have to get through this week and see how it goes from there."

Federer had been happily without a coach since splitting with Australian guru Tony Roche at Rome last May, but lined up Higueras last month in the States while playing the Masters Series events at Indian Wells and Miami.

After Federer weighed his options, it seemed logical to give the 55-year-old California-based Higueras a try. The 15-time ATP title winner has in the past coached Pete Sampras, Jim Courier and helped 17-year-old Michael Chang to the French Open title nearly two decades ago.

"I've been thinking about a coach for a long time, who would be the right guy," said Federer. "Once I had Jose in my mind I asked if he was interested. He's quite flexible and came over."

The partnership would appear to be aimed at helping Federer secure a title at the French Open, the only Grand Slam he has yet to win. But Federer insists his goal is broader than that. "You try to improve as a player. You need people around who make you better, fitter and stronger. Those guys [other players] work hard to make you play better," he said. "If that happens at the French Open, that's the perfect scenario. But I think it is the wrong approach to concentrate only on Paris."
Unlike some, Federer has not pressed the panic button after failing to lift a trophy three months into this season.

After reaching the Australian Open semifinals while recovering from what turned out to be mononucleosis, the No. 1 remains surprised that he did so well under the conditions.

"I disagree with those who say I'm playing bad. I'm definitely not playing bad. I'm on the verge of playing great again, that's what I'm looking at.

"We're now in a different part of the season, it's back to zero for everybody."

Federer, guarded by a special detail of four security men around the grounds on site, said that this week is important as a test of his clay form. He is competing at the smaller due mainly to the Beijing Olympic scheduling which knocks one week off of the spring clay season.

"Being here as the ultimate favourite and having maybe an easier draw than at a Masters, it's the right thing to kick off the clay court season," he said. "I've not had too many days on clay, it will be tough for all of us. But I hope I can then get on a roll.

"I hope Estoril will pay off and I can do well at other events - especially the French Open."

Well a new perspective is was and is definetly needed for Federer.Lets see what happens. :ok:

If this guy's work had anything to do with Pete Sampras getting to the semi finals of RG with his limited clay court game (Sorry Pete, but it was limited) then I think it's only a positive thing for Federer.

As DN says, time will tell.

I find it however to be a very odd choice for Federer though but yeah Gav,time will tell.i wonder why he didnt consult maybe a Brugera or even Muster.I mean if its just an agreement for the clay season then try and get real pro on the stuff. :shrug:

Yeah I can see what you are saying. But sometimes there can be a big difference between playing great clay court tennis and being able to teach someone how to play great clay court tennis. Maybe that is Fed's thinking. This guy has a good track record with Chang and Courier.

That is true as well :ok: I once had a coach who was a coach at many sports.The man was gifted really.He could teach you as a player to play any sport because he believed it was a mindset.Maybe this is Federers mindset as well.You dont need a great on the stuff to teach you,so I accept and understand your point. :ok:

I personally question the effectiveness of a coach for such purpose except maybe to increase a bit of confidence….except that Higueras never won the French afa I remember. Federer needed to convert 1 of the 10 BPs in the first set at last year FO final to have a good chance of beating Nadal. How would a coach help him convert one of those BP next time they meet? and if he does, coudl we attribute that it was actually the coach that helped him? Maybe a few tricks there and then but the essential thing for Fed is to retrieve his confidence and health.

Jose Higueras coached Pete in 2002 after Tom Gullickson, Annacone was Sampras' coach when he got to the semi of Roland Garros.

Higueras was Chang's coach in 1989 when he won RR, Higueras was Courier's coach when he won RG in 1991 so he comes highly recommended. He's Spanish but has been working in America with the USTA. He tends to be a part time coach these days unless circumstances have changed. The reason Sampras went back to Annacone in the summer of 2002 was because Higueras could not work with him full time.

When is Federer's first match? Is it today?

I meant when chang won Roland Garros, not RR - typo, sorry about that.

I totally agree with this..i mean federer is the second best clay courter out there ..all he needs is just confidence going into RG...obviously his confidence will be the lowest here cos he's the second best on this surface...a lot depends on Rafa and Dijko's performance on clay. All federer needs is some mental strength at this point...I wonder how much this coach is going to help him... :hmm:

Hi Gav, just picking up on the point you made, I happen to agree with the now deceased Bill Threllfall on this one ( great guy was Bill and a good commentator). He said that Sampras talked himself out of winning the French. His results are easily split into two halves:

1990 - 1996
Quarterfinalist at Roland Garros three successive years, semifinalist in 1996. Winner of Kitzbeul in Austria in 1992 and Italian Open in 1994. Winner of Davis Cup in 1995 winning all three rubbers on the slowest clay possible in Russia.

So that should been a very good basis to keep improving - instead:

1997 - 2002

never gets beyond the 2nd rd of Roland Garros. Wins Atlanta on green clay in 1998 and gets to the final of the US Clay court championships in 2002 (apparently they import red clay from Europe to help the Americans aclimatise to clay as opposed to using green clay.

Believe me I'm not trying to balme Annacone, Sampras has no one to blame but himself - but Annacone became Sampras' full time coach in 1997 after Tim Gullickson's passing in 1996 - that coincides with Sampras' style of play metamorphising into a full time serve and volleyer as opposed to the typical all court player he had ben from 1990 to 1996. I understand Annacone himself was a net rushing chipping and charging merchant and convinced Sampras to use his atleticism much more and go for bigger second serves mouch more often as opposed to staying back and getting into long rallies on his own serve, which he commonly did often in the first period 1990 to 1996 which is precisley what's required o clay, more patience. His peak was 1997 but after that his game really became much more attack oriented.

So Sampras basically decided clay wasn't for him. Believe me, he regrets it and would do it differently now if he got the chance, he's more or less said that more than once. The staitistics show that he has a overall 66% win loss record on clay not bad but - that would have been a lot better had he applied himself properly on that surface all the way through his career.

Don't get me wrong. I love Pete and did say that "if" that coach had anything to do with Pete getting to the Quarters and One Semi at RG then he was good. I wasn't entirely sure and it turns out he had nothing to do with it.

I love Pete and still think he is in the tiny group that will always be considered the GOATS of men's tennis, but when it came down to it against the very best on clay, his game was found wanting and I don't think he handled the high bounce and movement required like the real top guys on clay, notwithstanding the fact he did win some clay court tournaments so his game could stand up to playing there.

I, like you, remember that his game from 1990-96 was more of an court coverage game and on hard courts (and grass) he was a fantastic baseliner as well as an acclompished serve and volleryer. I can certainly see why he got much better results at RG in that period, but I still think at the peak of his powers on clay his game was still found wanting against the very best at the big one (RG).

Becker himself reached three semi finals at RG but he struggled badly with the movement and high bounce but unlike Pete he never won a clay court tournament (Pete slaughtered Boris in Rome in 1994 as I am sure you know!).

Thanks Gav, I agree with you. The point I was trying to get across was the Sampras had the basis of a very good game on clay but didn't put his mind to it properly or develop it further and so the issues of movement on clay and high bounces became an exaggerated problem for him - he didn't have problems on high bouncing hardcourts - different to clay but he grew up on hardcourts so it wasn't a problem for him. Some of his play on clay was damn good in the early days, I'm sure Tim Gullickson wouldn't have been to happy with Sampras' attitude to clay after 1996.

Absolutely,
in real terms i doubt there's much a coach could do for Fed in terms of his game, unless of course Fed thinks he can. A coach could, as you imply, act as a kind of placebo giving him a psychological boost.
I agree about also about the implication of your point about Feds low break point conversion rate in the French last year-Fed didn't mentally have it. I wrote a post effectively saying i thought Fed could have won but played himself out of the match.

I think a coach can definitely help a player in this kind of situation. I'm sure Fed is in principle able to analyze his games himself and see where he can improve - but to accurately assess yourself isn't always all that easy. I know he has a team around himself, but I don't think it can help to get some fresh input, particularly from someone who knows the clay very well.

A coach is not going to change his technique in any substantial way at this point - but can make a different to tactics and mindset, which may be exactly what Roger needs now. We'll see ...

Totally agree on this. This is the reason why he said himself he’s been looking for a coach for a long time. I can’t see why some people think he can do it all by himself, whether it’s at school, at work or in the arena; In order to function at 100% we all need some assessment from outside. Being amongst the very best in what you do doesn´t mean there´s no need for feedback.
As far as i'm concerned the issue is not whether Roj needs a coach or not but which coach is the right one :shrug:

who better than a clay court specialist? Fed needs to win the RG to prove truly that he is THE GOAT but results alone can show how effective this coach is going to be.

:ok:

Fed obviously spent quite a while until he decided on Higueras, so he must feel he's bringing what's needed to the table. And the guy has had some good success in coaching, so why not?

I know Roger has said there aren't that many coaches available, but I would think he can pretty much pick and choose. So we'll see whether he made the right decision, but let's hope Higueras can make a positive impact on his clay season! :ok:

Courier Praises Federer's Decision to Hire Higueras

Former World No. 1 Jim Courier believes his former coach Jose Higueras could be the key to helping Roger Federer clinch the only Grand Slam title to elude him.

The 1991 and 1992 Roland Garros champion praised Federer’s decision to hire Higueras for the Estoril Open, saying: “There are a handful of great coaching minds out there and Jose is one of them so I was not surprised to see Roger hire Jose.”

With a 1-6 record on clay against Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard who has beaten Federer in the last two Roland Garros finals, Courier believes the voice of Higueras might give Federer an edge when and if they meet on clay this spring.

“I am sure Roger is looking for a spark and a new voice often can do that,” said Courier, who had a 118-37 career record at the four major championships.

Higueras helped Courier to the No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings in 1992, a position the American held for 58 weeks in total during his 13-year career.

Higueras also forged a successful coaching relationship with Michael Chang, the 1989 Roland Garros winner, and several other champions.

“Jose understands the mind of a champion, knows how to deliver information tactfully and knows how to prepare a player as well as anyone you'll find,” said Courier.

“It's anyone's guess as to whether they will connect as player and coach but it seems like a logical choice by Roger.”

Source - Estoril homepage