From the stands, Severin Luthi shouted “Keep the pace, Roger!” just loud enough for Roger Federer standing at the baseline to hear. Luthi’s eyes under his baseball cap never left any ball, he was completely focused on what was happening on the field, forgetting everything around him.

Born on January 5, 1976, Luthi grew up in the suburbs of Berne. At the age of 17, he was a Swiss tennis champion and left school to pursue professional tennis. Luthi has a well-rounded playing style, however, he admits that he does not have a signature killer attack. Luthi’s memorable memory was defeating Gustavo Kuerten at the Orange Bowl youth tournament in Miami. They were the same age, and Kuerten later won the title at Roland Garros three times. At that time, Luthi also had a dream that one day he would be in the Top 20 in the world.

But at the age of 20, Luthi quit playing tennis to make a living in a commercial enterprise of his father’s friend. Next, he was admitted to Berne General University. After studying for a few months, he quit. “I realized that those things do not belong to me, I only feel comfortable with sports.” Luthi said.

He worked in a number of other jobs before working for the Swiss Tennis Federation, working as a practice partner for members of the Fed Cup team and for Martina Hingis in particular. Luthi also founded the marketing company Hi-PRO with Ivo Heuberger. Now this company specializes in providing costumes for the Swiss Davis Cup team.

The first time Luthi saw Federer, five years younger than him, was when Federer was 13 years old. “I watched him play a few times. Every time I meet him, I see his progress very clearly.” They kept in touch until fate brought them together. In 2002 Pete Carter, Federer’s former coach and newly appointed Swiss David Cup captain, died after a car accident in South Africa. Peter Lundgren, Federer’s coach at that time, took over temporarily as Swiss Davis Cup captain. To fill Carter’s vacancy, Mr. Lundgren invited Luthi to be his assistant. After 3 years as an assistant, Luthi became captain.

From the summer of 2007, Luthi began touring with Federer to tournaments, while still on duty with the Swiss Davis Cup team. He gave Federer advice, studied his opponents and became a practice partner with Federer. “Five years ago, after Roger broke up with coach Tony Roche, he asked me if I wanted to join his squad, and I accepted.” Every year, Luthi goes on the road with Federer for more than 30 weeks, becoming more and more indispensable to Federer. Even when coach Paul Annacone joined Federer’s squad in August 2010, Federer still kept Luthi.

“Seve”, as everyone often calls Luthi, knows almost everyone in the top tennis industry, from Rafael Nadal to unknown coaches and very young players. “My life is tournaments, but I also have a house in the city of Thun, where my girlfriend and I have lived together for 9 years.” Luthi’s friend is Claudia Marcon, who sometimes goes to tournaments with Luthi.

Surely few tennis coaches have a better life than Luthi. He shares what Federer enjoys, the best hotels, private planes, the best working conditions. “I know I enjoy things that other coaches don’t have. But I don’t take that for granted. I still feel happy with my stay at Holiday Inn. I always tell myself to keep my feet firmly on the ground. The higher you climb, the more painful you fall.”

Luthi has no idea about the future when Federer retires from his career. “I just focus on what I’m doing, maybe 1, 2 or 5 years from now. I will make a decision depending on the situation at that time.” But perhaps Luthi continues his career as a tennis coach, “because that’s what I know the most, that’s what I do best.”