Coach Severin Luthi Opens Up on Roger Federer

Recently, tennis coach and former player, Severin Luthi spoke about his ward, Roger Federer. During this interview, he was all praises for the Swiss ace and spoke of all 100 title wins.

When taking about how much Federer’s game has changed over the years, he admitted that his technique has altered the most. Luthi gave the example of Federer’s backhand, which they had been trying to master for a while.

Then, he revealed what Federer’s best ever was out of the 100 that he played. Luthi said, “The Australian Open 2017. Because of the whole history. He had not played six months, had three match of 5 sets. That was an incredible achievement. Paris 2009 was also very hard won. When Rafa left, Roger came under pressure. He knew: the way is clear. Maybe you won’t get such a chance again. The knockout round against Tommy Haas, when he was back with 0-2 sets and break point against himself. There was not much left to leave.”

Luthi admittedly had a hard time choosing the ‘sweetest victory’. There were so many candidates like Wimbledon 2009, 2012, 2017, the Davis Cup, Australia 2017, French Open 2009 and many more. In terms of the ‘strangest victory’, the winner had to be Shanghai 2014, when he fought off a stern challenge from Leonardo Mayer.

Luthi confessed that at that point, he was almost ready to stop watching and head to the locker room. But, Roger Federer being Roger Federer, he pulled through to not only win the match, but also the entire tournament. Australian Open 2017, also took the cake for ‘the most unexpected win’.

The 43-year old also opened up about Federer’s ability to juggle many roles. He continued, “The most important thing is: He likes to do it. The fans, for example, are no annoying evil for him, he enjoys this recognition. Now he comes back to his grip on the ground. As a young player, one wishes that one adores the fans. He did not forget that. Roger is the boss of his own company. But he know: you cannot always have everything. I do not know a more balanced and positive person than him. That helps a lot.”

Luthi believes that Roger Federer is a specialist in doing things. However, he still works hard to improve himself. He gave another example where Federer stopped throwing his racquet in anger altogether.

In conclusion, the Swiss Davis cup coach said, “You can learn everything you want from Federer. You can take a lot out of your way. I experience it everyday, and that is very inspiring. But to commit oneself, to think positively, and then to really do it, these are two different things. You can still read so many books about it, it is crucial that you are convinced of it, and it still lives.”