By Neil Schmidt
Enquirer staff writer

MASON - Tennis coaches spend most of the year traveling, don't get to advise their players during matches, lack job security and are virtually invisible to the public.

Yet they represent one of the biggest changes to the sport's culture over the past two decades.

Once curiosities, coaches now proliferate. Debate about their influence gained attention in light of what Andy Roddick has done after changing coaches and what Roger Federer is doing without one. Players drop the ax so often that even insiders have trouble keeping track of who's coaching whom.

TWO GAME PLANS

Roger Federer and Andy Roddick have improved results after firing coaches. Roddick's new coach is Brad Gilbert; Federer has no coach. Here is a look at how each has fared before and after firing his coach: Federer Before After Coach Peter Lundgren None Years 2001-03 2004 Win pct. .755 .919 Titles 11 8 Roddick Before After Coach Tarik Benhabiles Brad Gilbert Years 2000-May '03 June '03-present Win pct. .702 .852 Titles 6 9

"The merry-go-round of coaches that happens in tennis is interesting, because the coach/player relationship is so much more than X's and O's," U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe said. "You spend so much time with your coach.

"If you're in baseball or basketball and you don't like the coach, there are assistants you can go to. There's no out in tennis. When things get a little shaky, there's nowhere to hide and blow off some steam."

Two weeks after finishing his breakthrough 2003 season at No. 2, Roger Federer fired coach Peter Lundgren. Two years earlier, after finishing as the youngest No. 1 in men's tennis history, Lleyton Hewitt fired Darren Cahill.

Those are just the most notable examples of a coaching carousel that might appear to spin without reason.

What's the job description? Manage your player's equipment, travel and practice schedules. Act as a practice partner. Scout opponents. Motivate. Serve as the player's lone companion during down time.

Coaches are replaced most frequently when a player's performance suffers. Yet it's often just a matter of the relationship's dynamic.

"It's important to have a strong relationship," said Craig Boynton, who once coached Jim Courier and now coaches Jeff Morrison.

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"It's all based on the personality of the player. Sometimes coaches need to walk on eggshells because they need to feed their families, and sometimes they don't."

Bjorn Borg, the 11-time Grand Slam winner, in the 1970s became the first major player to have a regular coach.

Now nearly every player ranked in the top 200 has a full-time coach. The average salary, according to those in the business, is about $50,000. Coaches of top-10 players reportedly have six-figure incomes.

Some combinations become prolific: Stefan Edberg and Tony Pickard, Boris Becker and Ion Tiriac, Andre Agassi and Brad Gilbert, Pete Sampras and Paul Annacone, Steffi Graf and Heinz Gunthardt.

Gilbert now works with Roddick. Thanks to their sensational results in 14 months together, he ranks as the game's most well-known coach.

But even the stars aren't immune to pink slips; Gilbert was sacked by Agassi a few years ago. Annacone once was fired by Sampras. Larry Stefanki coached both Marcelo Rios and Yevgeny Kafelnikov to No. 1 but still got fired by each; Stefanki also was dropped last year by Tim Henman.

Some players are coached by parents, and even those don't always last. Jennifer Capriati, coached by her father since she was 14, recently added Gunthardt for a second opinion. Martina Hingis reached No. 1 with her mother, Melanie Molitor, but in 1999 split with Molitor for a short period.

"This is a stressful situation we're under," Morrison said. "Small things tend to turn into large things. That's how coaching situations blow up."

Sometimes, a change pays big dividends. Coached by Tarik Benhabiles between 2000 and May 2003, Roddick went 127-54 (.702) and reached No. 6. Entering his match Friday, Roddick has gone 104-18 (.852) under Gilbert, winning the U.S. Open and finishing last year No. 1.

"It's nothing out of the ordinary with what anyone else does," Roddick said of Gilbert. "We get along and we work well together."

Federer is bucking the trend. From 2001-03 with Lundgren, he went 185-60 (.755). Yet this year, going it alone, he is 57-5 (.919) and a runaway No. 1.

"I'm still looking for a coach," Federer said. "I'm taking my time, because I'm feeling right now that the way it's going, I don't need much help."

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E-mail nschmidt@enquirer.com