Over the course of his glorious career, 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has had many coaches. However, there was one coach in particular who had been the most impactful in Federer’s life.

Peter Carter was Roger Federer’s coach from when the Swiss Maestro was merely a 9-year-old. They continued a professional relationship until 2002, when Carter met an unfortunate demise.

Not only did Carter influence Roger’s game style the way we see it today, but he also helped him emotionally and behaviorally.

Roger Federer always credits Peter Carter for being the most influential

As a matter of fact, Peter Carter was not Federer’s first coach. Chiefly, that was Czech coach Adolf Kacovsky. However, according to Christopher Clarey, who wrote a biography on Federer titled The Master: The Brilliant Career of Roger Federer‘, Roger credits Carter for being having had the most influence on him, not Kacovsky.

“Peter brought me a lot,” Federer said, talking about his late coach. “On the human side, and of course with my tennis”. In fact, he credits Carter for his tennis technique, as well. “People talk a lot about my technique,” Federer said.

He then explained how many people have helped his technique, but none more than Carter. “If it’s (his technique) so good, it’s had a lot to do with Peter,” Roger said. Federer has often talked about how much he misses Carter and still remembers his enormous contribution to the person he became. In fact, Roger Federer had not won a single Grand Slam until Peter’s demise, which he considered a wake-up call to not waste his talents away.

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Following carter’s tragic death in a car crash, Federer won his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon the next year, and dedicated it to Peter

ALSO READ: The Heart-Wrenching Story of Roger Federer and His Former Coach the Late Peter Carter

Carter came to Basel purely by chance

It is purely by chance that Peter Carter, the man so influential in the life of one of the greatest players in the sport, came to Basel, Switzerland.

According to Clarey’s book, financial pressures made Carter “complement his meager tournament income” by playing for clubs in Europe. He could have landed in any random club in any European nation. And yet, it just so happened that he came to Basel.

Soon, Peter Carter realized that coaching tennis in Switzerland paid well. Thus, he decided to pursue a future as a full-time coach in Basel itself. Subsequently, he met a 9-year-old Roger Federer, and then went on to craft and train one of the greatest players in the history of tennis.

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