Roger Federer ropes in 'idol' Stefan Edberg as coach

Dubai: Roger Federer is adding Stefan Edberg to his team, part of a recent trend of top tennis players hiring ex-stars as coaches.

Federer, owner of a record 17 Grand Slam titles, said on Friday on Facebook that six-time major champion Edberg "agreed to work with us for at least 10 weeks starting at the Australian Open." Federer refered to Edberg as his "childhood hero." Severin Luthi will continue to work with Federer, too. Earlier this month, Edberg took part in a training week with Federer in Dubai.

"I am happy to announce that beginning in Melbourne, Stefan Edberg will join Severin Lüthi on my coaching team," said Federer in a statement on his website. "Severin, who has been part of my team for the last seven years, will do most of the weeks and Stefan has agreed to work with us for at least 10 weeks starting at the Australian Open in Melbourne. Stefan was my childhood hero, and I am really looking forward to spending time and learning from him."

"I'm really excited to be part of Roger's team and I hope together we can bring out his best tennis," said Edberg, a six-time Grand Slam singles champions and former World No. 1. In October, Federer split with coach Paul Annacone after three and a half seasons together. Federer finished 2013 ranked No. 6. It's the first season since 2002 he didn't reach a major final.

Lüthi said, speaking to the ATP official website: "Roger will play a full schedule next year so we both wanted to make sure we had a solid team in place. I want to continue to improve and innovate Roger's game and I really look forward to be working with Stefan. Like Roger, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Stefan and I am sure he will bring a lot to our team as Roger continues to chase titles in 2014."

Federer's decision comes at the back of several top players seeking assistance from former champions. Novak Djokovic had recently announced that he will be coached by Boris Becker, while Michael Chang will oversee Kei Nishikori. Croat Marin Cilic has appointed countryman Goran Ivanisevic as his coach and Frenchman Richard Gasquet will team up with French Open winner Sergi Bruguera and Ivan Ljubicic will coach Milos Raonic.