Roger Federer has to find another guru to keep his fountain of youth from running dry.
Stefan Edberg, who helped Federer remain the best tennis player in the world this side of Novak Djokovic, has ended his coaching association with the 17-time Grand Slam champion after two years.
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The breakup is a year overdue, and anything but controversial. But Federer's future suddenly may be cloudier because of it.
"After 2 very successful years, I would like to thank Stefan Edberg, my childhood idol, for agreeing to join my team," Federer said on his Facebook page. "It was a dream come true. Although it was supposed to only be for 2014, Stefan was great and agreed to extend the partnership through this year which I really appreciated. He taught me so much and his influence on my game will remain. He will always be a part of my team. Severin Luthi, who I have been working with since 2008, will continue to be my main coach and he will be joined by Ivan Ljubicic. Both Daniel Troxler, my physiotherapist and Pierre Paganini, my longtime fitness trainer, will remain part of my technical team."
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Under Edberg's tutelage, Federer won 11 tournaments and had a record of 136-23. He twice reached the finals of Wimbledon, as well as the 2015 U.S. Open, only to fall to Djokovic. The 2014 Wimbledon was an epic five-set match and nearly gave the Swiss star his 18th major.
''After an amazing 2014, I decided to continue on for another year, but with a clear understanding that it would be my last year given the time commitment,'' Edberg said in his statement to the ATP via tennis.com. ''Roger still has a lot left to give to the sport of tennis and is capable of winning the big events. Roger and I will remain close friends and I will always feel part of the Federer team. I hope to try and come watch Roger play some tournaments in 2016."
Federer, who turns 35 in August, still is as good as any player not named Djokovic, but his window of opportunity of closing while Djokovic is trying to challenge Federer's legacy.
Ljubicic has his work cut out for him. As does Federer.
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