Federer adds ‘childhood hero’ Edberg, 6-time major champ, as coach ahead of Australian Open

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Stefan Edberg of Sweden smiles during the men\'s single final match against Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia in the Hong Kong Tennis Classic on Jan.9, 2010. Roger Federer is adding Stefan Edberg to his team, part of a recent trend of top tennis players hiring former stars as coaches. The Federer-Edberg announcement comes a little more than a week after Novak Djokovic hired Boris Becker as a coach. Andy Murray already had been working with Ivan Lendl. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP - Kin Cheung

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, says 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 refers to Edberg as his “childhood hero.” Severin Luthi will continue to work with Federer, too.

In October, Federer split with coach Paul Annacone after 3 1/2 seasons together.

Federer finished 2013 ranked No. 6. It’s the first season since 2002 he didn’t reach a major final.

The Federer-Edberg announcement comes a little more than a week after Novak Djokovic hired Boris Becker as a coach. Andy Murray already had been working with Ivan Lendl.

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