Tennis champion Roger Federer has announced that his contract with coach Stefan Edberg, which was extended for a year at his request, will be ending in 2015.
The partnership saw Federer through 11 ATP title victories, but could not add to his 17 Grand Slam wins. Edberg was instrumental in guiding his protege through a grand tally of six titles in the current year, keeping him in the top rankings, but the duo could not topple the unbeatable Novak Djokovic. The Serb has defeated Federer in Grand Slam finals since 2013, twice at Wimbledon and most recently at the U.S Open.
The parting was amicable; Edberg explaining that their original contract expired in 2014 anyway and that he only stayed on another year at Federer’s request. All praise for Federer, he believes the player still has “a lot to give to the sport”.
Roger Federer’s comments about his coach were equally positive. He said it had been a privilege to be coached by his ‘childhood idol’. Stefan Edberg is revered as one of the all-time greats of tennis, a former No.1 of both singles and doubles. He remained in the top 10 singles players’ list for ten successive years.
For Roger Federer, the tennis season will begin in earnest early next year, when he takes to the court in the Brisbane International in Australia in January. He holds the crown for last year’s tournament and will definitely be looking forward to retain it come 2016.