“I’ve never seen anyone,” Paul Annacone recalls being stunned by Roger Federer’s passion for tennis and playing with young players

Roger Federer announced his retirement from tennis at the 2022 Laver Cup.

“I’ve never seen anyone,” Paul Annacone recalls being stunned by Roger Federer’s passion for tennis and playing with young players

Paul Annacone (L), Roger Federer (R) (Sources: Wikipedia, Uniqlo)

American tennis coach Paul Annacone recently opined in an interview that he has never seen any player throughout his career who loves the sport of tennis as much as Roger Federer.

Annacone was Federer’s coach between 2010 and 2014, and they together won Wimbledon in 2012. Federer also won back-to-back year-end championships in 2010 and 2011. 

Talking about Roger Federer’s love for the game, Paul Annacone said that he never had to put in any effort to get him on a practice court, as Federer loved to practice and play tennis. And he did not just do it out of a sense of discipline; he found joy in what he was doing. 

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This guy, I've never seen anyone, I don't think, that loved the game, like he loves the game. I mean, all the time I was with him for those four years, never a day where it was arduous to get him on a practice court. Never a day where he didn't find some joy in what he was doing.
Annacone said via Rock n Roll tennis Podcast

Roger Federer retired last year during the Laver Cup after an extremely decorated career. His love for the sport was probably what led to him winning as many as 20 Grand Slam titles throughout his career, which spanned over two decades. Even after his retirement, Roger Federer follows the sport pretty closely and is often seen attending tennis events. 

The Swiss international has all the time in the world now that he is retired, and thus he has restarted his old passion for skiing once again after 15 years. Recently, he also paid a visit to the 2023 Biathlon World Cup. 

He attends several events like this pretty frequently now. He attended Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli’s concert in Zurich. He broke down in tears when the tenor called him to the stage to pay him a tribute. 

Paul Annacone reveals how Roger Federer behaved with young players during practice

Paul Annacone also said that Roger Federer loved to be around young players in practice, to play against them, and to teach them like a mentor. He loved the vigor that youngsters have because they are like sponges who can watch him play and learn the sport better.  

Paul Annacone and Roger Federer
Paul Annacone and Roger Federer (Source: Eurosport)
We get on the practice court & we find games that he's just loving & getting young players out there to practice with him that are just starting their career. So, it was fun for Roger to be around a young player where he sees all this youthful exuberance & also for the young player to be able to be a sponge & watch what happens.
He said

Roger Federer currently travels around the world for his several brand deals and does skiing in his free time. He is also often busy working for his new performance running shoe brand, On Running. 

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