The Times U.K. is confirming Blick’s report that Roger Federer has hired a new physiotherapist, Frenchman Stéphane Vivier, to be part of his full time team:
Federer, the 28-year-old world No 1, has appointed Stéphane Vivier, one of seven ATP physiotherapists, to travel with him full time to make sure that he is in the finest physical shape every time he plays. If anything was certain to nail the suggestion that Federer is thinking of slowing down after winning 15 grand-slam singles titles — and reaching a record-breaking 22 consecutive semi-finals — this has to be it.
And:
Like Andy Roddick, who snapped up Doug Spreen, a former full-time ATP trainer, to work with him on a private basis three years ago, Federer is placing his faith in someone whose responsibility has been to treat every player at his respective tournament.
Federer has an enormous amount of respect for Vivier, a Frenchman, going so far as to say that the physio knows how his body works even better than he does himself. Remarkably, although Severin Luthi, the Swiss Davis Cup captain, travels on an occasional basis with Federer, the world No 1 still has no permanent coach.
The Times did not mention Gary Hamilton, the Australian masseur that Federer hired to travel with him for the past couple of seasons. Blick reported that Vivier is Hamilton’s replacement.
(Sidenote: I have a new pet peeve – I’m tired of the media insisting that Roger has no coach. Severin Luthi is his full-time, permanent coach. It’s like saying Nadal has no full-time coach because Uncle Toni doesn’t travel to every tournament with him.)
While Federer is taking extra steps to stay fit and healthy, he’s facing some (indirect) criticism for helping to promote Davidoff, the tobacco and luxury goods company that sponsors Federer’s home tournament in Basel this week.
Via SwissInfo:
Pascal Diethelm, director of the anti-smoking group OxyRomandie, said last year “players drowned in an advertising soup for Davidoff“.
“At the end of the match the young ball boys and ball girls received a medal from Roger Federer in recognition of having served the cause of Davidoff so well. Each medal bore the Davidoff logo in order to make sure that these potential smokers would know which cigarette brand to choose,” he said
Anti-smoking advocates have even tried asking Federer to pull out of the tournament:
Two years ago OxyRomandie sent an open letter to the world number one – signed by more than 500 international health experts – calling on him to either pull out of the tournament or ask that the organisers to cut all ties with Davidoff and the tobacco industry. He declined to respond.
Unless he has a belated change of heart, Roger will be taking to the courts of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors on Monday evening, where he’ll play Olivier Rochus in his first round match. Click here for the Davidoff Swiss Indoors TV Schedule and live streaming info.
Tags: ATP, Basel, Davidoff Swiss Indoors, Federer, tennis
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I wonder why the criticism only comes now. This tournament has been sponsored by Davidoff for some time now.
Oh for heaven’s sake. It’s not like he’s handing out free ciggies to kids on street corners. People should stop being so damned puritanical – no-one has to smoke if they don’t want to.
“…pet peeve… Severin Luthi is his full-time, permanent coach.”
Agreed. I’ve often wondered why there is so much hype over Roger not having a coach, when he clearly does have one.
agreed! i’m almost positive rog considers severin his coach and one of his best friends.
he doesn’t deny this and the guy is practically at every tourny with rog. what is the point of bringing this up all the time media people! i can understand them using this supposed non-permanent status in the beginning of the year when he seemed to be struggling, but then he kicked butt after! really, they can’t come up with anything else, because rog is too good.
I think people just like the myth that Roger has accomplished all this on his own. When he really didn’t have a coach and was winning everything and anything, it was definitely a point of pride (at least with me!) It’s such a good story that the media doesn’t want to let it go.
he’s always had great support, but it’s true he didn’t have a full time coach for a while and still managed to be so successful. even pete always had a coach by his side. there was a period when it was just mirka and roger on the road, perhaps along with pierre and a masseur behind the scenes. very impressive. take the natural talent, the weapons, the hard work, being a student of the game, understanding how to break down an opponent’s weaknesses and you basically have an ideal player. roger makes it look easy. no doubt the misses was his secret weapon too!
the mrs. oops!
Poor Roger! Why is he responsible for the sponsors? How come no one is jumping on the other players to quit the tournament? Olivier Rochus, shame on you!
it’s not as if rog represents their brand, like he does for nike, rolex, lindt, etc. it is obvious that he is very particular about which companies he aligns himself with.
this is his hometown tournament, where he was a ball boy! he is the 3 time defending champ and throws a pizza party for the ball kids each year! this is the town where he said ‘i do’. fed missing this tournament would just be silly. rog, of all people is such a great example of decency, respect and everything positive about the sport. we need to see him play again too!
I don’t know why only Roger is being criticized for promoting tobacco. It’s not like he is a smoker anyways.
Just wait until his tell-all book comes out, JFK! Roger will finally come clean about the cigars he smokes during bathroom breaks.
Roger-Rochus game is over, Thank you ESPN 360. If I may add, the commentators are pretty good.
And Roger looks great on that Lindt brown shirt, he looks like he lost some weight…
SEVERIN LUTHI…..let’s give this coach some history making credit.
Very good list lorrie, although, if we’re being honest, we’d give Djokovic credit for task #4 on the list, no?
No.
AGREE…NO
Then we’re not being honest. Djokovic definitely gets credit. The scoreline (and track time) in that match vs the scoreline in the final tells a big story. Let’s not kid ourselves.
After that epic between Djokovic and Rafa? When people talk about Madrid 09, that is THE match to remember.
Most definitely one of the greatest matches of this year (as well as Rafa vs Verdasco, totally epic! Both those matches STILL give me chills!)
Jean, don’t expect Federer fans to agree.
The only Federer fan that joked that “Federer should send Djokovic a fruit basket for sure.” Was my friend who is a fed fan. And a few other Federer fans online who were being honest.
It is always said that, in order to beat Rafa on clay:
1- Rafa has to play terribly (not even that, the exact word they use is “injured”) and
2- You have to play a great match (out-of-this-world tennis)
And even THEN it’s not a given.
It’s funny how those saying are conveniently swept under the rug.
It’s ridiculous to say that that match, where Djokovic and Rafa were beating the stuffing out of each other, had no affect or bearing on the performance and level of resistance put up in the final.
That is not to say that Federer doesn’t get credit for being there and taking advantage of the opportunity. As he should. He played great tennis to beat Rafa. You have to if you want to have a chance to win.
I just want to add that, out of respect of FreakyFrites’ blog and fans of Federer, I don’t want to divert the conversation or attention away from the original post.
I apologize, I just wanted to include my opinion on the matter and points Lorrie, Jean and JFK were making.
Back to discussing Roger. I’m sure all Federer fans are eager and excited to see him back on court after his break.
Good luck to him in his next match.
You know what? I’m a Rogerholic and even *I* can agree that that brutal match between Nadal/Djokovic had an affect.
That is sport. There are two sides to a story.
Like you pointed out LilyPop, on one side Nadal was no doubt beaten up and rundown due to his prior match and on the other Roger played a great match.
And seeing as Roger won, I don’t see why that truth cannot be admitted. I’m completely fine with it. *shrugs* Although, I’ve been called “traitor” and worse things by people who don’t agree that I should say that. I don’t care, I love Roger, but I have immense respect for Rafa and I’m glad it’s him whose his rival.
How much would it suck if it were Djokovic or Murray? They would gloat and rub it in any chance they could get! It would be unbearable!
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Back to main discussion:
The fact that Davidoff gave advertisements to children under the guise of being a medal is disgusting. Tobacco companies have been targeting the young since the beginning of time. It is a reflection on the TOURNAMENT, society and the ATP that they allowed such a thing. It is not Roger’s fault and if the anti-smoking group REALLY wanted to make a change, they would go after the Big Man who’s in charge of these decisions, they could address the ATP aswell. Not the individual tennis player! How cowardly.
Oh, no problem, LilyPop! I like any kind of debate as long as it doesn’t get too personal.
all i can say is that rog played great, smart, tactical tennis. rog got beat up at the FO too and those were 5 set matches and won. he just played really well against rafa in madrid. i can’t wait to see their next match together where hopefully they’re both healthy.
I agree! Roger played some brutal tennis at the FO. But still, according to his critics, he only won because of who lost. Roger isn’t “lucky” to be the last man standing in the tournaments — he earns his victories fair and square.
The Nadal Djokovic semi wouldn’t have been nearly so long if they didn’t play so slowly. I don’t accept that it had a lot to do with the final. Nadal is used to playing long matches, look at him in the AO semi against Verdasco, where he went on to win the final.
I think that is is true that Novak helped wear Rafa down for Roger in Madrid. This is a factor at any tournament, with all of the players. It doesn’t change the final result. And obviously the AO final proved that Rafa is always a contender, no matter what his condition.
And Luthi does deserve some credit for the win! I’m sure he and Roger discussed the new tactics Roger employed prior to the match – Fed purpsoely kept Rafa waiting at the net before the match 2. he chose to recieve rather than serve, changing the usual dynamic and 3. he utilized that forehand dropshot to perfection.
I’m just hoping these two meet again – as soon as possible! Paris Masters, here we come!
“Oh, no problem, LilyPop! I like any kind of debate as long as it doesn’t get too personal.”
Okay, thank you Freakyfrites. ^_^
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I agree with what a feat it was that Rafa won the AO in the fashion that he did. But I think the biggest difference was that the AO was the beginning of the tennis season.
By the time Madrid rolled around, and after he participated in that epic with Djokovic, he had SO much tennis under his belt because it was the MIDDLE of the tennis season as apposed to the start of the season.
During the AO, he was fresh mentally. By the time Madrid came around, he had gone the distance in all of the tourneys leading up to it. So saying that he bounced back during a GS five setter and so he could obviously do it again, isn’t accurate.
At Madrid, he had the AO epics, Rotterdam, Indian Wells, Miami (loved his match vs Wawrinka! They both played great!),Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome AND Davis Cup under his belt. It was a lot of tennis in his legs and on his mind.
Also, it was the QUALITY of his match with Djokovic that counts too, not just the length of the match. That match was absolutely punishing! The rallies and points were downright BRUTAL. Even I was ready to pass out after that match and I was only WATCHING!
Rafa then had to step back on court the very next day. And he wasn’t in the same place he was at the AO. Much like at the beginning of the week I can spend long hours at work, hang out with friends and still have enough energy to do many things. But by the time the end of the week rolls around, I’m not the same person. Just because I could tolerate all of that action at the start of the week, doesn’t mean I could by the end of it. A lot has happened since then. Human beings are affected in that way. That is another reason why a proper off-season is necessary for athletes. Not just for physical rejuvenation, but also for MENTAL recharge.
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All that being said, the result is what it is. That was one side of the coin and the other side is that Roger played a great match and (as Rafa would be the first to point out) he deserved his victory.
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Freakyfrites, I also can not wait for another Rafa/Roger match. The two of them just take it to a whole other level! When the two of them step onto court together, it’s magic. I recall that in Paris last year, both Rafa and Roger retired in the Quarter final round right? So hopefully they both make it to the finals this year and battle it out
The only thing is, Paris is hostile territory for Rafa. I recall that they booed him after he was forced to retire vs DavyD.
I hope they are more decent to him this time around. There’s a difference between simply rooting for someone else and just being downright hostile and mean.
Then again, I read that they will be awarding Rafa with the ‘French Academy of Sport Award’. The only other two to get that award was Steffi (1988) and Roger (2005). So hopefully that a positive sign that they will be nice.