Paul Annacone explains differences between Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, says Federer was more "expansive", while Sampras was more "mono-focused"

Roger Federer and Pete Sampras' former coach Paul Annacone recently appeared as a guest on the tennis show 'Three', where he shed some light on his experience working with the two legends of the game.

Part of the Federer camp from 2010-13, Annacone was instrumental in the Swiss' return to World No. 1 in 2012. With Sampras, the American served a greater tenure - from 1994 to 2001 and then again from 2002 until his retirement. Annacone was the coach under whom Sampras had his greatest accomplishments.

Comparing Federer and Sampras' personalities, Annacone noted how the American was more insulated, while the Swiss has always been an extrovert.

"I think personality-wise they're very different. But they got to their same place in their goal-orientation with very different methods," Annacone pointed out. "They both understood themselves really well and knew exactly what they needed to do to be successful."

"Pete was much more insular. Roger's an extrovert, he's out there in the world," added Annacone.

The American coach mentioned how both Federer and Sampras put in the hard yards during pre-season, adding that their fitness was a result of the sheer number of matches they played.

"In terms of preparation, they're pretty similar. They both worked the hardest in the pre-season. And luckily for them, because they win so much during the year, they are playing so many matches. A lot of their fitness and their training gets done because they win so much," Annacone said.

According to Annacone, Federer enjoyed his practice sessions more than Sampras.

"I think Roger probably enjoyed the process a little more than Pete. Roger's kind of a goofy kid at heart. You know, he's always (making) practical jokes. But he works really hard, got a good team around him," Annacone said.

Annacone pointed out another key difference between Sampras and Federer. The American explained that Sampras was "mono-focused" and liked distinct training programs, while Federer was more "expansive".

"Pete would be with his strength and conditioning guy, whoever it was at the time. And then I would do the tennis stuff. And then you'd have his physio, and then you'd have his light (training). Pete was more mono-focussed and Roger was more expansive," Annacone said.

"Roger was more into hearing and seeing ideas, Pete was more locked into his game" - Paul Annacone on pre-match planning of Roger Federer and Pete Sampras

Roger Federer and Pete Sampras at a talk show during IPTL 2014

During the interaction, Gill Gross, the show's host, went on to ask Paul Annacone about how Roger Federer and Pete Sampras differed in their pre-match planning.

Annacone remarked that Sampras mostly focussed on his own game, rather than taking in a lot of information about his opponent.

"Pete was less information, more compact period of time; didn't like to spend hours talking about stuff," Annacone recalled.

Federer, on the other hand, liked to watch footage of his matches and discuss different ideas and tactics.

"Originally when Roger and I were together, we did a lot of video stuff. We watched a lot of different matches that he had played - successes and failures," Annacone said. "And then we talked about that and discussed things. So, he was more into the process of hearing ideas, seeing ideas."

The American pointed out that while Federer was open to tactical suggestions, Sampras' approach was to find a way to impose his own game against any opponent he came across.

"Pete was really locked into "okay, this is how I play, how do I plug that in tomorrow against X". He really knew his game," Annacone said.