Roche wants to coach Lleyton
Roche wants to coach Lleyton 
By Leo Schlink
Former Australian Captain June 01, 2007
TONY Roche has broken his silence to declare his interest in coaching Lleyton Hewitt in the wake of an acrimonious split from Roger Federer.
Roche, regarded as the finest coach in international tennis, refuses to elaborate on the reasons behind his dismissal from the Federer camp.
But sources point to Federer’s reluctance to pay Roche adequate bonuses - despite winning six of his 10 majors under the Sydneysider - as the main reason the pair fell out.
“I have no comment on that,” Roche said.
“I’m taking a break at the moment and don’t have any plans.
“But it would be nice to be involved with an Australian player again.
“Lleyton and I go back a long way.
“He’s playing the French Open right now and he’s got Wimbledon coming up and I don’t want to distract him from that.
“But when he gets back home after Wimbledon, I’d like to talk to him.”
Roche, 62, was fired by Federer after the world No.1 bombed out of the Rome Masters, losing to Italian wildcard Filippo Volandri.
The decision shocked even the Swiss critics who declared Roche too old to help Federer, despite the pair’s stunning record of 192 wins from 205 matches since 2005.
Those in Roche’s corner are furious with Federer’s post-split comments about “lack of communication”.
Roche and Federer shared a handshake agreement since the end of the 2005 season.
The partnership was based on Roche travelling 16 weeks a year, but it floundered badly after Federer’s victory at the Australian Open.
Hewitt and Roche first became involved at senior level during Australia’s Davis Cup victory over France in Sydney in 1997.
Hewitt wanted Roche to become his personal coach when Pat Rafter retired in 2002, but the French Open singles champion was unable to take up the offer because of hip surgery.
Roche has always been close to Hewitt and, with Hewitt now living in Sydney, a mid-season union between the two is now regarded as inevitable.
Hewitt has been without a full-time coach since Roger Rasheed resigned in January. He was briefly replaced by Scott Draper, who has since concentrated on his golf career.
The probability of Roche and Hewitt collaborating paves the way for Hewitt to have the best coaching in the world provided Darren Cahill is retained as Davis Cup mentor.
Cahill and cup captain John Fitzgerald are currently helping Hewitt to prepare and, with Roche disinclined to travel, the pair remain integral to Hewitt’s renaissance.
Swiss sources continue to speculate that Cahill will become Federer’s new coach.
But Cahill, who has recently re-settled in Adelaide, has existing contracts with US television networks and Tennis Australia.
