Chapter 9 Chapter 6 New coaches and new ways

(New Coach, New Ways) On Easter Sunday in April 2000, a fax was sent to the editorial offices of the main Swiss newspapers; the fax had no sender's name and only a brief headline "Tennis Bulletin".The clumsy 22-line press release began: "Roger Federer has decided that he will act independently in the future. Effective October 1, 2000, he will join the Swiss Tennis Association's current coach Pete Lang. Degren. After many years of cooperation with the Swiss Tennis Federation, the two parties have amicably parted ways." The statement followed by expressing sincere gratitude to the Swiss Tennis Federation, especially Pete Carter, as stated in the press release That being said, it was he who brought Federer to the No. 1 junior world rankings in the world in 1998 and the subsequent top 50 rankings in the world. "This ranking made it possible for me to gain a foothold in tennis, and I have therefore decided to go on my own," Federer said in a statement.

Carter couldn't hide his disappointment, but his response was gracious.He immediately withdrew from the 18-year-old Swiss teenager's training camp and refocused his energy on training other players from the Swiss Tennis Association. As it turns out, Federer now has a coach who is perfectly compatible with him.The 35-year-old Swede is a stocky man with long, blond hair that makes him look like a Viking.He is easy-going, positive and optimistic by nature, and loves to joke, but he can also be strict with his disciples.He already knows the ins and outs of professional tennis from his time as a professional player; he has played most of Federer's new opponents and has played in all the major tournaments in the world, on the center courts of all the major tennis courts played in.He is a well-known, well-liked and respected figure in tennis circles.

Before working for the Swiss Tennis Association from 1997, Lundgren worked in places such as Germany and Sweden; in 1996, he also worked with top Chilean player Marcelo Rios.The always bearded, long-haired and sullen Chilean is one of the most unpopular players on the tour, considered the epitome of stubbornness and violence. "It was really the longest and toughest eight months of my life," Lundgren admits.In comparison, his cooperation with Federer, who signed a 40-week contract in a year, is simply heaven. Lundgren soon realized where they had to focus primarily on his young pupil. "Roger had to learn to 'win ugly,'" he said. "He's an artist, and when his shots don't work, he gets cranky and loses focus. He can do whatever he wants with the ball. , but sometimes he has to learn to simplify his style of play." His volleying technique is also a weakness. "When we first started working together, he hated volleying," Lundgren said. "He played like there were shoals of sharks lurking in front of the net, and we practiced a lot to keep those sharks away. "

Federer's partnership with Lundgren began in the middle of the clay-court season.It was a miserable moment for Federer, who has first-round exits in clay-court events in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, ​​Rome, Hamburg and St. Polten.By the time he arrived at the French Open, Federer was 0-11 combined on clay courts on the ATP Tour and Davis Cup.Lundgren attributed the streak to a season-planning blunder -- Roger traveled to Houston for the Oak River Invitational before the clay-court season began, leaving him with little time to prepare for European clay courts. race. Fortunately, the black hole on the clay court was finally filled by Federer in Paris.He beat Australia's Wayne Arthurs 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 for his first victory on clay courts; After American Jan-Michael Gambill, Federer knocked out compatriot Michael Krato of Bern in a five-set, 8-6 close fight that went all the way to the final set. Michael Kratochvil.The victory over Kratokwehr also put Federer in the last 16 of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.In the Grand Slam with 128 main draw seats and two weeks to go, being able to reach the fourth round can be regarded as an excellent record.Although Federer lost his next match to Spain's Alex Cretega, one of the world's best clay-court players, Lundgren was pleased with the result. "Kreitja had a great game, but Roger was basically able to fight it for two hours," he said. "This experience will give him confidence and strength."

However, his newfound self-confidence did not immediately bear fruit.Two weeks after his match with Kreitja, Federer lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Russia's former world number one Evgeny Kafelnikov.Still, Federer was encouraged. "I don't play badly, but I'm not too bad," he explained, before going on to talk about the unique atmosphere of his favorite game.Despite failing to win a main draw at Wimbledon in both appearances, he said with confidence that, just as he won the junior title at the All England Club in 1998, he will one day be at the All England Club. Win the men's singles championship here.At that time, some reporters shook their heads in disbelief after looking at each other.