Roger Federer has plenty of greatness left in him: Paul Annacone

Roger Federer of Switzerland sits with coach Paul Annacone during a training session

Swiss maestro Roger Federer has acknowledged immeasurable number of accolades from various different players, experts and coaches. And this time, it was Paul Annacone to eulogize Federer, after lately parting ways with him.

Federer has had a dip in his form, which has led to downfall in his rankings. Winning just one tournament this year (in Halle), the 17-time Grand Slam Champion is struggling to secure his place in the World Tour Finals.

“Greatness doesn’t stop,” USA Today quoted Annacone. “It doesn’t just go away. He’s not all of a sudden now not that good anymore.”

“The problem is that the expectations and the bar are so high. Whenever you start to doubt people like this you kind of set yourself up to get your own foot stuck in your mouth,” added Annacone, who split with Federer, after working together for three and a half years.

“They’re atypical. They’re phenoms. As much as Roger still loves to play, the exuberance he still shows in every practice, his desire to continue to enjoy the game — I can’t imagine anything other than success coming his way. For me, it’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when.”

Earlier, Federer had announced the split on his website.

“When we started together we had a vision of a 3-year plan to win another Grand Slam title and get back to the number #1 ranking,” it said. “Along with many other goals and great memories, these 2 main goals were achieved. After numerous conversations culminating at the end of our most recent training block, we felt like this was the best time and path for both of us.”

Annacone, who hung his boots up from professional tennis in 2003, had coached 14-time major winner Pete Sampras for the majority of his career, before joining hands with Roger Federer.