World No. 2 Roger Federer paid rich tribute to his coach Severin Luthi, calling him the ‘rock’ in his corner after Luthi was chosen as the ‘Coach of the Year’ at the Credit Suisse Sports Awards on Sunday.
The Swiss great, who is preparing for January’s Australian Open also said that his spectacular comeback in 2017, highlighted by two Grand Slam title triumphs at the Australian Open and Wimbledon has made 2017 as his favorite year.
2016 was a real struggle for Federer – he got injured right at the start of the year in Melbourne while running a bath for his kids and never recovered from a knee problem which continued to bother him until he decided to end his season after an uncharacteristic semifinal defeat at the hands of Milos Raonic in the Wimbledon semifinals.
However, 2017 turned out to be like a dream. Not only he extended his Slam count to 19, but also won a tour-best 7 titles and finished the year as the new World No. 2 behind his great rival, Spain’s Rafael Nadal.
“It’s been a massive year – perhaps my favorite! If 2018 is half as successful, then I’ll be happy,” Federer said.
Federer praised Luthi’s for his guidance both as a coach and as a friend who gave him the right advice during troublesome times.
“Congratulations on coach of the year in Switzerland,” Federer said on Twitter.
“So well deserved, lucky to have you on my team.
“You’ve been a rock in my corner for years.
“Thank you.”
Luthi, who wasn’t as successful as a professional player as he is as a coach, quickly deflected the praise towards his superstar charge’s passion, hard work and professionalism.
“For me, the only thing that matters is to help Roger playing better,” Luthi said.
“For me it’s very inspiring to see Roger’s passion.”
