THE LOW DOWN: Fed not injured says fitness trainer, working on preventative practices in Dubai

Roger Federer's fitness trainer + conditioning coach, Pierre Paganini, sat down for a Q & A with Blick to discuss the Swiss' recent fitness issues which forced him out of Dubai + Davis Cup.

The pair are currently in Dubai, where Fed owns a home, for the next two weeks working on preventative practices. Pierre reiterates the former No.1 is not injured:

- Mr. Paganini, what’s going on with Federer? What is he doing?

Paganini: At the moment we give him some time to recover. We intensified the work with his physio therapist. But to make it clear once and for all: Federer is not injured. What we are doing is pure prophylaxis. We are working for the next two weeks in Dubai. Roger also flew in two sparring partners to be able two work on the court.

-Was Federer a 100% fit in Melbourne?

Paganini: Well we have to go further back for this. Roger got injured last November. His injury is cured. Everything was ok in Melbourne. But with so many matches it is not easy to recover 100%. He wasn’t impeded in his game. But it meant a lot of stress, the journey, the pressure, etc., so the body’s reaction in a stressfull situation and during a normal traning is not the same. He felt it, and that’s why we have decided to take a break in order to prevent other injuries from occuring [sic].

-What did you learn from it? Do you have to change something?

Paganini: Well we understood that we have to spend even more time doing physical preparation. This is the priority between the tournaments. Roger wants to pay attention to his body in order to be able to manage those stressfull situations.
- Does that mean that he is going to play fewer tournaments?

Paganini: No, it simplyn [sic] means to plan in a different way, manage the time differently. We have to organise ourselves even better in order to be able to do a proper physical education wherever Roger is.

- Roger is not going to play the Davis Cup. As a Swiss man it must hurt you, but as a fitness coach you must think that it is right.

Paganini: As a fitness coach I always should be against it whenever it concerns the body. You have to recognize that if he would be playing Davis Cup he’d be playing as the team leader. He’d play Friday, Saturday and Sunday non stop. That’s just a lot for your body. Roger is like a jewel. And he knows that it would just be too risky.

It's interesting that Pierre describes Fed as "a jewel" - solid, precious, luxurious but requiring much care and maintenance.

Anyway, it sounds like the 13-time Grand Slammer is having a more difficult time these days recovering from long matches and tourneys. Clearly it's a product of age but also he may have a harder time, mentally, recovering from these losses when he's so close to making history.

It's a tough cycle: Fed's body naturally begins to give so he puts in tons of effort in preparation for the majors. But when he loses it's a big fall tinged with all kinds of disappointment. So the questions for him become "When does all this physical preparation become too much preparation?" and "How do you recover the mental aspect from the tough loss?" I'm not sure he's had many opportunities in his career to ponder these questions until now. New turf me thinks.

I'd say the next couple of Grand Slams, where he'll be looking to surpass Pete Sampras' record 14, will be the toughest of his career and may likely take him longer to achieve then we could even imagine.

Thanks to Tennis Times for the translation!

(image via Blick.com)

PHOTO OP: The incredibly disappearing Dinara, baby fat begone

While her big brother Marat was busy getting punched, Dinara Safina looks like she's been taking off the pounds.

The Russian lady baller, who defeated Flavia Pennetta to give Russia and 1-0 lead over Italy at the Hopman Cup (Russia dismissed Italy 2-1, click here for results) arrived in Perth working a new slimmed down frame but still dressed in those old, dreaded pepto-colored adidas duds. Ugh.


Anyway, I'd been hearing about this new "slimmed down" Dinara and I was excited to see some images. It's definitely a noticeable change and she should def benefit from the newfound fitness in the coming season.

Will it help her nab a maiden Grand Slam? We'll see, but it certainly can't hurt.


(image via TONY ASHBY/AFP/Getty Images)

PHOTO OP: More Murray fitness, focuses on core and upper body strengthening

Team Murray continues to give us a glimpse into Andy Murray's fitness sessions in Roehampton. Yesterday, the Brit baller worked the treadmill to exhaustion and today we get to see him strengthening his core.

According to his site,

In performance sport circles, core stability is seen as key to peak performance and injury avoidance. In a nutshell, it's about the strength and conditioning of the deep, underlying muscle groups that ordinary folk often neglect.

Andy's core programme sits neatly, and somewhat painfully alongside the running work. Unlike the traditional 'hard fitness', core exercises demand a high level of concentration and attention to detail: to get the most of it, you need to nail the poses.

During the session Andy starts with "the superman" (top image), a balancing practice that uses the abs to keep him steady on the ball. Next up is "plank" which may be familiar to those yoga and pilates practitioners and is held for a minute each repetition:


Andy then moves into the "roll and hold" on the ball where he rolls to one side, holds the pose, then repeats on the opposite side:


Now comes a very difficult looking practice, the "Swiss ball push up" (don't try this at home, people!):


Okay - I need to catch my breath after that one. Tthe fun doesn't stop there, however. The 21-year old ends with a workout for the arms, shoulders, and parts of the back using resistance bands:



I guess this is how someone becomes the number four baller in the world - I get it!

(images via andymurray.com)

The state of Marion Bartoli: unfit or unflattering?

Firstly, I'd like to admit I haven't actually seen Marion Bartoli play recently in Doha or Indian Wells so these observations are purely based on these images. Plus, I like her attitude + demeanor on and off the tennis court.

But is the pepto-colored dress she's wearing (I hope that's not yours Nike) just horribly unflattering or is last year's Wimbledon finalist completely out-of shape + unfit?


(image via AP Photo/Mark Avery)

SIGHTING: Roger Federer back in action, preps for Aussie Open campaign

Back in action: Roger Federer, who pulled out of the Kooyong Classic with a stomach virus, looks to be in good physical shape based on these photos of a recent practice/fitness session in Melbourne. In fact, the World No. 1 has an opportunity to play some matches at Kooyong now that David Nalbandian, who we thought had a good chance of challenging Fed at the Australian Open, has pulled out of the tournament with back spasms.

According to tournament director Colin Stubs,

"[Federer] said he would like the match practice, [...] We can slot a match outside the format. Federer, (James) Blake, (Novak) Djokovic are not out of the equation for a fourth match outside the bracket."

For his part, the Swiss Stylist said,

"I hung around and I definitely think [the decision is] going to turn for the good and I'll be 100 per cent, really, before the (Australian Open) starts."

(images via AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

SIGHTING: David Nalbandian looks primed for Aussie Open challenge

Spoiler alert? Former Wimbledon finalist and current Roger Federer nemesis David Nalbandian was spotted training in Melbourne recently for the Australian Open.

From these photos the man with the lethal double-fisted backhand looks in great shape to spoil Fed's chances at the first Grand Slam of the year. After all, he did beat the World No. 1 the last 2 times they played - in Master Series events no less (not to mention 2 straight defeats of World No. 2 Rafael Nadal as well.)

The Argentine will also be part of the elite 8-man field at the Kooyong Classic this week. Unfortunately, we won't get to see a rematch between the two just yet as Fed pulled out of Kooyong with a severe stomach virus. More to look forward to in Melbourne, we suppose...

(images via WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images & AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)