Ferrer splits with coach Piles after 15-year relationship

Johannesburg: World number three David Ferrer said Sunday that he has split with coach Javier Piles after a 15-year working relationship, according to reports.

According to Sport24, Ferrer, 31, who reached his first Grand Slam final this year at the French Open where he lost to compatriot Rafael Nadal, made his announcement at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship which gets underway in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. Ferrer and Piles had endured a close but sometimes roller-coaster relationship, the report said. The coach once locked Ferrer in a cupboard as punishment for a poor performance on the practice courts, the report added, Ferrer is the second top three player to change coaches in the last week after world number two Novak Djokovic shocked the sport by hiring German legend Boris Becker as his head coach on Wednesday, the report further said.