Personal coach is vital if Hewitt wants to retain title - Pickard

Lleyton Hewitt is not easily rattled. Even when he appears shaken and screams and shouts during a match, the Australian is usually just refocusing his energies. On and off court, Hewitt is in control. Or at least that was the case until earlier last week, when the defending Wimbledon champion became surprisingly prickly. Why? Well, because he was asked how he was coping without a coach.

"I have a coach," he snapped, even though the man who has replaced Jason Stoltenberg, who returned to Australia earlier this month "for family reasons", is in fact Hewitt's fitness coach. "Roger [Rasheed, a 34-year-old South African] has been working behind Jason all year, so the transition has been easy. Everything is fine." In truth, Stoltenberg's departure from his functions was as ill-timed as it was sudden. It is particularly curious that he could not stay for the duration of Wimbledon and then catch the first plane home.

Hewitt is putting on a brave, and sometimes angry, face, but it is widely accepted that no player should enter a major tournament without an experienced coach by their side. Tony Pickard, who knows exactly what is required to win Wimbledon, is in no doubt that Hewitt will now find defending his title very tricky. "I think the young man is going to struggle without a coach," says the Englishman who guided Stefan Edberg for 11 years. "I'm sure Hewitt felt that he was right to split from Stoltenberg, but I believe it was a mistake."

According to Pickard, it is Hewitt's routine that will suffer most. "Let's face it," says the man who helped Edberg secure two All England singles titles, "at this level the top guys know exactly how to play the game. What a coach can bring them, however, is discipline. No matter how good a player is, or thinks he is, the fact of the matter is that he needs some help, particularly during a long, high-pressured tournament like Wimbledon."

And not just any help. Pickard feels that the importance of what he calls "a proper travelling coach" is too often overlooked these days. "Despite what some people think," he says, "we're not just there to sit in the box and top up our tans. What we knowledgeable coaches do is gain an in-depth understanding of our charges and then offer them coaching for the right sort of areas. It's an art."

Pickard adds: "When there's a good relationship between a coach and a player, the coach knows exactly how the athlete functions. I don't mean to be rude about Hewitt's present coach, but there is no way a fitness guy will bring the right day-to-day exercises, let alone know how to fine-tune the player's minor troubles. A fitness coach knows about fitness, not tactics. I'm sure this is just a temporary set-up for Hewitt, but that won't make things any easier at Wimbledon."

Rasheed, who peaked at No 130 in the rankings before being forced out of the professional game because of a chronic back problem, has known Hewitt for more than 10 years. But replacing Stoltenberg, who helped Hewitt win 61 of 76 singles matches over their 18-month association, will be no simple feat. "I guess the timing of Jason's departure is a little unfortunate," Rasheed admits, "but then again we're right in the middle of the season, so it's a matter of business as usual as far as Lleyton is concerned. I've worked closely with Jason, so I won't be making any changes to Lleyton's game. The coaching caper is more about managing the athlete and having them in the right frame of mind when they take the court. I'm not going to try to reinvent the wheel."

Rasheed probably couldn't if he tried. The Hewitt entourage is a tough nut to crack. Hewitt's parents, Glynn and Cherilyn, head the camp, who shun outsiders and protect the player at all cost. It cannot be easy for a coach to make decisions and demands when parents are omni-present, but Rasheed will have to learn to live with those limitations. "I always think a coach should be the player's only sounding-board," Pickard says. "It makes things easier, and it facilitates the building of a proper team."

Despite the recent troubles, Hewitt should not be underestimated. The fiery Australian is a born fighter, and you can be sure he will not relinquish his Wimbledon crown without a fierce scrap. That said, even the most garlanded of players believes a coach is essential.

"Put it this way," Andre Agassi points out, "I would never consider going it alone. I think it's important to have someone alongside you, if nothing else just to bounce ideas around."

Agassi has never been one for sticking with the same coach for too long - as his parting with Brad Gilbert and hiring of Hewitt's former coach, Darren Cahill, proves - but that does not mean the No 2 seed at Wimbledon would ever fly solo. "The Tour can be a lonely place," the American says. "I need support around me."

Pickard, who has overseen Anne Keothavong's steady rise up the rankings since he started coaching Britain's new women's No 1 last October, concurs with Agassi. "When you're trying to be the best player in the world," he says, "it's impossible to make it without a coach. A proper road coach is worth his weight in gold... even to a star like Hewitt."