Roger Federer announced today on his website that Paul Annacone will be coaching Roger on a trial basis.

Dear Fans,
I’ve been looking to add someone to my team and I’ve decided to spend some days with Paul Annacone. As Paul winds down his responsibilities working for the Lawn Tennis Association, we will explore our relationship through this test period. Paul will work alongside my existing team and I am excited to learn from his experiences.
See you soon.

Roger

Back in spring of 2009, NYT‘s interviewed Paul Annacone and asked him about Federer’s slump. Here are some choice excerpts:

On tennis, the cruelest sport:

One of the best and cruelest aspects of tennis is that there is nowhere to hide. You might be an all-time great, even the all-time great, and yet you are only as effective as the forehands, backhands and decisions you are making on any given day.

Paul Annacone on the Sampras-Federer connection:

“There are definitely some parallels,” said Paul Annacone, Sampras’s longtime coach, in an interview this week. “Just as it was for Pete, it’s a particularly interesting, challenging time in Roger’s career. But I would look at it with Roger in the same way as for Pete. For guys like that, it is daunting but not that daunting. They are so skilled they can adjust, but a lot of the adjustment is mental.”

Paul Annacone’s coaching tips to Federer:

“He may choose to keep doing what he’s been doing and not tweaking, and that’s his choice as a champion,” Annacone said. “But for me it would be a shame. If you have a lot of weapons in your arsenal and choose not to use them, what’s the point in having them? It’s a matter of managing them a bit differently than he did a few years ago.”

Paul Annacone‘s resume includes:

- Coaching the former GOAT, Pete Sampras, from 1995 to 2001. Sampras won 8 grand slam titles during this time.

- From December 2001 to January 2003 Annacone was also Managing Director of the United States Tennis Association High Performance Program

- He coached Tim Henman part-time, beginning in the autumn of 2004.

- Annacone became the Lawn Tennis Association‘s Head Coach in November 2006

- became Great Britain Davis Cup team coach in April, 2008, following the resignation of Peter Lundgren

source Wikipedia & ATPWorldTour

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