There has been much written this week about Roger Federer’s decision to “try out” former Pete Sampras coach Paul Annacone as his personal coach as the 16-time major tournament winner looks to regain his form after failing to reach the semifinals in his last two major tournaments.
August 1 marks the anniversary of a very difficult day in coaching history of Federer as it marked the day that his first real coach and very good friend Peter Carter passed away in car accident in South Africa. Rene Stauffer, author of the book THE ROGER FEDERER STORY: QUEST FOR PERFECTION ($24.95, New Chapter Press, www.RogerFedererBook.com) discusses the Carter tragedy in his exclusive book excerpt:
South Africa was always a special place for Roger Federer. He held a South African passport since birth and became endeared to his mother’s native country. He routinely traveled there with his family when he was little. “South Africa is a haven for him away from the world of tennis to find fresh inspiration,” his mother explained once. “It has a certain openness to it. You grow up with a lot of space in South Africa, which is something different compared to the narrowness of a mountain landscape. South Africans are more open, less complicated. Roger had taken on these characteristics.”
Meanwhile, Federer acquired a valuable piece of property along the picturesque Garden Route on the western coast of South Africa at the luxurious Pezula Resort. After the exhausting 2000 season, Federer vacationed in South Africa, where he went on safari with his godfather, Arthur Dubach, a work colleague of Federer’s father during his work days in South Africa. They even experienced a rare site for tourists—a group of leopards killing and eating a gazelle.
In the early afternoon on August 2, 2002, the announcement came over the Swiss news agency Sportinformation—“Davis Cup Captain Carter Killed In Car Crash.” According to the story, the accident occurred in South Africa where he was vacationing with his wife Silvia. There was no further information. The bad news was then updated with the report that a second man died in the accident.
What really transpired during this belated honeymoon between Peter and his wife was not immediately known. Carter was driving in a Land Rover in the vicinity of the Krueger National Park on August 1, Switzerland’s national holiday. The accident occurred in the Phalaborwa area, about 450 km north of Johannesburg. The vehicle where Carter was a passenger and which friends and his wife were apparently following, was reported to have gone out of control due to a defective tire. The car then crashed into a river bed and rolled over.
The news reports were contradictory. At first, it was announced that Carter died in the evening and later that both passengers were killed instantly. According to initial reports, it was Carter who was driving at the wheel. Later, it was reported that a friend of Carter’s was driving the car and later that a native South African was behind the wheel. The Limpopo police spokesperson in South Africa then issued the statement: “Carter and the driver, a South African, were killed instantly when the roof of their vehicle was crushed in.”
Silvia Carter explained what really happened. “My husband was in the car with a very good friend of ours. We were driving ahead of them and they were following behind us. The vehicle did not have a defective tire. Our friend had to swerve to avoid a minibus that was heading directly at them. Such risky passing maneuvers are unfortunately a daily occurrence in South Africa. In order to avoid a frontal collision, he pulled off onto the ‘accident lane.’ The fateful thing was that a bridge was coming and they had to pull back onto the tarred lane. The speed as well as the difference in surfaces—the natural surface and the tarred surface—that the wheels had to deal with spun the Land Rover. It broke through the bridge railing and landed about three meters below on its roof.”
Federer received the shocking news courtside at the Tennis Masters Series event in Toronto. He was never so upset in his life. Carter was a good friend and the most important coach in his career. Although Federer lost already in the first round in Toronto, but was still playing in the doubles tournament partnering with Wayne Ferreira, ironically, a South African. The mood was grim for the third-round doubles match, which Federer and Ferreira lost to Joshua Eagle and Sandon Stolle. Federer played the match wearing a black armband in honor of Carter. His eyes were red. He nonetheless announced after the doubles loss that he was prepared to give an interview. “We spent a lot of time together, since I was a boy,” Federer said of his relationship with Carter. “I saw him everyday when I was a boy. It’s terrible…He died so young and unexpectedly.” Federer said that the two always had a connection and they were born under the same Zodiac sign—he was born on August 8, the coach one day later. “Peter was very calm but he was also funny with a typical Australian sense of humor. I can never thank him enough for everything that he gave to me. Thanks to him I have my entire technique and coolness.”
Carter watched Federer play for the first time when Roger was a kid in the 1990’s and exuberantly told his parents in the Barossa Valley in Australia that he had discovered a gigantic talent who could go a long way. He worked with him for all but two years until 2000 and led him to his storied success in the world junior ranks as well as to a top 50 world ranking. After Federer chose Lundgren as his private coach, Carter remained a coach with the Swiss Tennis Federation and took up responsibilities in promoting new talent in men’s tennis. He married Silvia von Arx from Basel in May of 2001.
Carter was the players’ favored choice as Davis Cup team captain for a long time. However, when his wife suffered from lymph node cancer, Carter put his coaching duties on hold until Silvia’s recovery was certain. Since Carter was not a Swiss citizen with a Swiss passport, he was not permitted, as Davis Cup captain, to sit with the players on the court or assume the role as the “official” Davis Cup captain. However, the International Tennis Federation, agreed to recognize him as a Swiss citizen and as the official Davis Cup captain as soon as he acquired a resident permit, which he was scheduled to receive in September of 2003. Carter led the team only once, in February of 2002 in Moscow.
Federer left Toronto for Cincinnati where, like in Paris, Wimbledon and Toronto, he lost in the first round. He couldn’t concentrate. He no longer had confidence in his game and tennis was no longer fun. His thoughts were with Peter Carter. “When something like this happens,” he said, “you see how really unimportant tennis is.” He pulled the emergency brake. He withdrew from the doubles event in Cincinnati and pulled out of the next week’s event in Washington, D.C., and flew home to Switzerland.
The funeral took place on August 14, 2002 on a warm summer’s day in the Leonhard Church in Basel. About 200 people were in attendance to bid farewell, among them many familiar faces in the tennis world. Carter’s friend from his youth, Darren Cahill, who was now coaching Andre Agassi, was also present. The simple ceremony, accompanied by music, was conducted by the same clergyman who married the Carters a year before. Silvia Carter gave a brief, touching speech, as did a friend who came from Australia, Davis Cup physiotherapist Caius Schmid and Christine Ungricht, the President of Swiss Tennis. “He was such a great person,” she said. “Why him? Why does it always happen to the best?”
Federer’s parents were also inconsolable. Carter formed a link to their son over the years. He informed them about everything concerning Roger when they were traveling together. “It was the first death Roger had to deal with and it was a deep shock for him,” his mother said. “But it has also made him stronger.”
Federer left the church with a sense of grief that he never before experienced in his life. “Any defeat in tennis is nothing compared to such a moment,” he explained weeks afterwards. “I usually try and avoid sad events like this. It was the first time that I’d been to a funeral. I can’t say that it did me good but I was close to him in thought once again and I could say goodbye in a dignified setting. I feel somewhat better now, especially in matters concerning tennis.”
Although Federer lost in the first round of five of his last eight events, he no longer viewed his athletic position in such a negative light. He pointed out that he had expended little energy since his victory in Hamburg in May and was still physically fresh for the rest of the season. “You also have to see the positive things despite the defeats,” he said. “I played a great deal at the beginning of the season and now I’ve had time to rest. All the energy that I now have will help me at the end of this year or in the coming year.”
After reaching the round of 16 at the US Open for the second straight year, Federer only had one thing in mind—the up-coming Davis Cup match in Morocco. “We simply have to win there—for Peter,” he said. The empty spot left by the fallen team captain was filled during Casablanca’s late summer by Peter Lundgren. The task faced by the Swiss at the modern tennis facility in al-Amal proved difficult. The North Africans had two dangerous clay court specialists at their disposal—Hicham Arazi, against whom Federer lost at the French Open earlier in the year, as well as Younes El Aynaoui, who was among the top 20 players in the world. “I believe the Moroccans are the favorites because of their home advantage,” Federer said.
Michel Kratochvil lost the opening match of the series to El Aynaoui, but then another Federer Davis Cup spectacle ensued. He easily defeated Arazi—and then El Aynaoui—by identical 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 scores and also was the dominant figure in the doubles victory to lead Switzerland to the 3-2 win.
“Perfect from beginning to end,” Lundgren described Federer’s performance. There was huge feeling of relief in the Swiss camp after the victory. Wild cheering reverberated through the halls and doors as the victorious team retired to the locker room. Federer said the victory was important but “the fact that I played so well was only a bonus.” Not surprisingly, he dedicated the success to Carter. “I thought about him today even more than I usually do.”
The strong result at the US Open and his spectacular performance in Casablanca erased all of Federer’s doubt and demons. His grieving for Carter slowly receded and his self-confidence returned. “The fact that I could keep Switzerland in the Davis Cup World Group through my victory gives me a lot of momentum,” Federer said before the indoor season. Physically, he was still fresh due to many early-round defeats over the summer and his motivation for the final six weeks of the season was high. The goal was clinch a spot for the first time in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China as one of the eight best players for the year.
The undertaking was going to be difficult. Federer was ranked No. 10 in the year-to-date ATP Champions Race but he had to place at least in the top seven to guarantee a spot in Shanghai. In Moscow, Federer reached the quarterfinals, where for the first time, he was defeated by Safin. Eight days later in Vienna, a tournament where he always played some of his best tennis, Federer once again held a trophy over his head. In the semifinals, Federer defeated Carlos Moya 6-2, 6-3 in a match where Federer played so well that Lundgren talked of it for months. In the final, he defeated Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic and a rival for one of the final spots in the Shanghai field, by a 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 margin. It was his first trophy since Carter’s death and his thoughts were once again with his Australian friend and coach. “I dedicate this title to him,” he said with glistening eyes at the award ceremony.