Pierre Paganini is one of the keys of Roger Federer's success especially in the late stage of his career. In an interview to Blick, the famous fitnesd trainer spoke about his privileged and difficult role.
'I have been doing this job for 33 years,' said Paganini. 'With Stan [Wawrinka] for 15, with Roger for 17 years. But I met Roger for the first time already in 1994, when he went to the sport School in Ecublens.
He had a great talent, but no one could expect to see him winning 18 Grand Slam titles.' He saw a 13-year-old Federer from a close angle. What kind of kid was Roger? 'At this age most of young guys go through a very particular stage.
It wasn't easy to handle Roger's character, but he was natural so he could change. He was hard on himself but very relaxed thanks to the education received by his family.' Speaking about his relationship with Federer and Wawrinka, the 59-year-old Zurich native said: 'Federer is my main client, I work with him the most.
Luckily Roger and Stan get along well. My goal is to do well for them. I only have to be in the right place and moment. We also talk by phone or through SMS about fitness and plans.' How much does Paganini influence Federer? 'Like his whole team, I give him some suggestions.
But Roger is the boss, he takes all the decisions. And we support him. He has always an objective view, as he has a family above all.' Why is it so important at his age to take longer breaks than he usually did? 'Because you have to consider the whole situation.
Roger is 35, has been playing for a long time and would like to keep going for a long time. At the beginning of the year, as he won all the time, he played more than planned. So his body and mind needed to rest.
Now the season is still very long.' Ahead of Wimbledon, is Federer as fresh as he was before Australian Open? 'Wimbledon is definitely the main goal of the season for him. It's two different situations, because now he played matches.
We will see. Roger has a lot of energy, he does everything having a goal in his mind and he is unbelievably motivated. He enjoys as much as when he was a junior player. For me to work with him is a great privilege and emotion.' It seems Federer doesn't make a lot of effort as he has a natural talent.
'He is underestimated from this point of view. Because when you see him playing, it seems he dances. But he makes a big effort because he needs to apply what he does in practice, then in matches. Being very talented almost means you have to work more.
I admire him mostly for hiw consistency. He should be an inspiration for the whole tennis world.' After a very tough 2016 season, are you afraid he could get injured again? 'During your whole career every player has injuries.
You have to prevent them. Then of course it's normal to be afraid of getting injured.'
Injuries are very important, as we remember last year... versus Raonic.. it was sad to see Roger unable to do something about it, but he still fought till the end
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'I have been doing this job for 33 years,' said Paganini. 'With Stan [Wawrinka] for 15, with Roger for 17 years. But I met Roger for the first time already in 1994, when he went to the sport School in Ecublens.
He had a great talent, but no one could expect to see him winning 18 Grand Slam titles.' He saw a 13-year-old Federer from a close angle. What kind of kid was Roger? 'At this age most of young guys go through a very particular stage.
It wasn't easy to handle Roger's character, but he was natural so he could change. He was hard on himself but very relaxed thanks to the education received by his family.' Speaking about his relationship with Federer and Wawrinka, the 59-year-old Zurich native said: 'Federer is my main client, I work with him the most.
Luckily Roger and Stan get along well. My goal is to do well for them. I only have to be in the right place and moment. We also talk by phone or through SMS about fitness and plans.' How much does Paganini influence Federer? 'Like his whole team, I give him some suggestions.
But Roger is the boss, he takes all the decisions. And we support him. He has always an objective view, as he has a family above all.' Why is it so important at his age to take longer breaks than he usually did? 'Because you have to consider the whole situation.
Roger is 35, has been playing for a long time and would like to keep going for a long time. At the beginning of the year, as he won all the time, he played more than planned. So his body and mind needed to rest.
Now the season is still very long.' Ahead of Wimbledon, is Federer as fresh as he was before Australian Open? 'Wimbledon is definitely the main goal of the season for him. It's two different situations, because now he played matches.
We will see. Roger has a lot of energy, he does everything having a goal in his mind and he is unbelievably motivated. He enjoys as much as when he was a junior player. For me to work with him is a great privilege and emotion.' It seems Federer doesn't make a lot of effort as he has a natural talent.
'He is underestimated from this point of view. Because when you see him playing, it seems he dances. But he makes a big effort because he needs to apply what he does in practice, then in matches. Being very talented almost means you have to work more.
I admire him mostly for hiw consistency. He should be an inspiration for the whole tennis world.' After a very tough 2016 season, are you afraid he could get injured again? 'During your whole career every player has injuries.
You have to prevent them. Then of course it's normal to be afraid of getting injured.'