Sergiy Stakhovsky Hires Fabrice Santoro as New Coach
World No. 58 Sergiy Stakhovsky, who defeated Roger Federer at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, has hired Fabrice Santoro as his new coach for the foreseeable future.
Stakhovsky made the announcement via twitter.
So tennis world please welcome my new coach..the on and only,incredible magician, fantastic person and extraordinary player @fabsantoro72 !!
— Sergiy Stakhovsky (@Stako_tennis) November 25, 2014
Stakhovsky compiled a 20-20 record on the tour this season – a year highlighted by his semi-final appearance in Sydney and his second round victory over Ernests Gulbis at the Wimbledon Championships. He also climbed back 37 ranking spots over the year.
The decision to hire Santoro is a surprising one since the retired Frenchman is not an experienced coach. However, it is in keeping with the recent trend of hiring so-called celebrity coaches (ie. Federer-Edberg, Nishikori-Chang, Djokovic-Becker and Cilic-Ivanisevic.)
Santoro won six singles titles over his career but never achieved Grand Slam success except in doubles action, where he won three Major championships (2 doubles, 1 mixed doubles).