“He had lost his way and was completely out of contact with his shoes”

Will Roger Federer be able to return to the top after a disastrous year? His former coach Stefan Edberg talks about the tennis master’s last major crisis and how the Swiss made a comeback.

Roger Federer had a year to forget. The 20-time Grand Slam winner was unable to enter a single tournament after his two knee operations in the spring. His last serious fight, the semi-final at the Australian Open against Novak Djokovic, was almost ten months ago. The six matches in Melbourne will still be his only ones in 2020 and Federer is currently preparing to return to the same tournament in January 2021.

There is no comparable year in Federer’s career. At the latest in 1998, when 17-year-old Roger played only five games on the tour, but hadn’t yet made the leap in quality. Since then, there have been an average of 72 games per year, with a minimum of 28 games in 2016.

The last way out of the crisis

According to former Federer coach Stefan Edberg, Federer could have been in a similar situation seven years ago compared to this year. “2013 was a difficult year for Federer,” reveals the former world number one to “KickServeRadio”. “He had back problems, somehow he lost his way and was completely out of his shoes.”

With Edberg’s help, the Swiss overcame the crisis and won a total of ten tournaments in 2014 and 2015. But Federer had to reinvent certain parts of his game. “We have thought about how it could develop. It was important because it was obvious that he wasn’t going to win more games from the baseline. The older you get, the harder it gets, ”says Edberg. “He had to take control of the points and he wanted to be a more aggressive player like me.”

Small decisive things

The deciding factor at the time was that Federer changed his club and went online more often. It wasn’t a big deal, says Edberg. «Teaching Federer is not difficult. He is a very good listener and is a very fast learner. Sometimes it’s the little details that make the difference. For example, when he started hitting the backhand a little earlier and flatter. So he won the Australian Open 2017. “

Whether Federer is able to regain his best tennis after a year without earnings will be revealed in January at the earliest. The 39-year-old is currently training again and preparing for his comeback. According to Edberg, with full commitment. “He still has that passion for the game and always wants to improve. Even today I am sure that in 2021 he will try to play on the front line again. ”This should make Swiss fans positive.