Celebrated tennis coach and former player Paul Annacone has commended Roger Federer for the way he picks and chooses his events in the twilight of his career.

Roger Federer aware of his standing in tennis, says Paul Annacone

Also a respected television analyst on the side, Annacone said what impresses him the most about Federer is how he is aware of his standing in the game and plans his schedule accordingly.

Federer knows how to prioritize schedule

Speaking during a podcast, Annacone, who currently coaches rising American talent Taylor Fritz, was asked to weigh in on the core skills that the Swiss would focus on while tailoring his training and Tour schedule.

Read More: “Important to be Positive”: Roger Federer Serves Up Hope for New Season

“One of the best things he (Federer) does is to prioritize his schedule. 

Look, when you are an icon like Roger is and you are a global brand, you better be good at figuring out how to manage your time and prioritize issues because you’re getting pulled to thousand different directions,” said Annacone, who coached Federer for three-and-a-half years.

Annacone recalls Federer’s training blocks during his time as coach

The American drew from his experience of coaching the Swiss icon to present his courtside take on Federer and his training methods.

“So, in pre-season or training block time, we usually had a big one after the US Open to finish the year.

We’d had a big one in December to start the new season for Australia and then we’d have a pretty healthy one before the clay court swing and get through the grass season.

Then after the grass season, we usually just had a little bit of an acclimation period to get used to the summer months. 

So, he had three pretty significant ones (training blocks) and one that you had to piecemeal in a little bit,” said Annacone, who also had successful coaching stints with stalwarts Pete Sampras and Tim Henman.

He said Federer’s physiotherapist at the time made sure that “we didn’t do too much too soon” .

Out of an extended rehabilitation process after a knee surgery which kept him out of play this season, Federer has resumed training to be back next season.

However, it’s not confirmed yet whether he will play the Australian Open next year.