ROGER, FACING HEIR-RAISING FUTURE, MAY PULL TOGETHER IN THE DESERT
Federer is getting a lot of attention. He’s not shopping for bassinets yet, but may be for a coach – and seemed to have the right man for the job in Aussie Darren (Killer) Cahill. They met in Dubai, another desert, where Roger was readying himself, for the newly named, and sponsored, BNP Paribas Open. But Cahill, who had steered Lleyton Hewitt to No. 1 and pumped new life into Andre Agassi, though tempted and flattered, felt he couldn’t spare the time from his young family in Las Vegas.
Too bad for Federer. But good for those like myself who admire my colleague Cahill as an astute TV commentator for ESPN, one of the best. I’d hate to see him leave the microphone.
Does Federer need a coach? Not to tell him things he already knows. “But sometimes you need a new pair of eyes to give you a different perspective,” says Aussie Roger Rasheed, under whose guidance the Frenchman Gael Monfils has risen from the 40s in 2006 to a current No. 9.
And now for a four-month gap until the U.S. plays again. Silly, but that’s Davis Cup. Croatia in Croatia is the next American test. The surface? You’d imagine native clay, quicksand for American men. But Croatia beat the U.S. in 2003 and 2005 on quick hard courts, and Marin Cilic and Mario Ancic, the mainstay Croats, may prefer to keep it that way.
Tags: Federer, Indian Wells, Mirka
March 13 2009 10:24 pm | Tournaments
Miles Hutson M.D. on 21 May 2009 at 10:10 pm #
Bud We have traveled together twice with Steve Furgal, first to L.A. to see Pete and Andre; then in 2000 to Espana, again for the Davis Cup. You may remember my son Luke who was with me is Spain. He and I did Pamplona before the “tie.”
I would be forever grateful if you would contact me ASAP. I wrote to your wife and asked if she would forward it to you. It is very important and I assure you, i would never waste your time.
As best I can tell it went through to her e-mail.
Ph. 830-426-1259 e-mail dochutson@aol.com
your friend and fan,
Miles Hutson M.D.
Hondo, Tx.