Roche perfect for Lleyton, on one condition…
Reports that team Hewitt is planning to swoop on the recently unemployed Tony Roche is superb news, you would think. While Lleyton hasn’t quite reached reality TV dating stage just yet, his career has been more soap than substance for a good few years. His ranking is 22. That would almost appear generous. There needs to be a spark from somewhere.
Roche has terrific credentials. Not immaculate, but very good. He couldn’t take Ivan Lendl to a Wimbledon trophy, nor Federer to the French. Right now, this shouldn’t be Lleyton’s concern. Just competing will do.
The timing of Roche’s parting from Federer appears unusual. A couple of weeks out from the French Open, it would seem like tennis suicide. Then again Roche was brought on board to help Federer improve on clay and it hasn’t happened. Apparently it was to do with bonuses and scheduling. Roche only wanted to travel for 12-15 weeks per year.
That’s not a coaching assignment, that’s a Trafalgar tour.
Lleyton needs someone, all the time. No compromises. Sure, he could base himself in Sydney and hit balls in Roche’s backyard, but he needs more. He can’t afford to have a coach pick and choose which tournaments to peruse because little Johnny has his communion on next month. Imagine if it was anyone else but Federer that had this arrangement? It could have been a disaster.
If getting Roche fulltime means an endless supply of demands, fine, give him what he wants. Money, an endless supply of those Optus caps in an assortment of colours, whatever. It has to be for real. Roche is one of the few people Lleyton seems to respect. One of the fewer people Lleyton would take instruction from. Let’s hope for the good of tennis in this country that Roche sees it as an opportunity as well.
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