New York - Andy Roddick will hope to jump-start his stalled tennis as he begins work in 2009 with veteran coach Larry Stefanki.

Former number one Roddick, who withdrew from last week's Masters Cup after rolling an ankle before a match, announced on his website that he and the former mentor to John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Tim Henman and Fernando Gonzalez will team up within weeks.

"The timing of this exciting new partnership provides the duo the majority of the off-season to prepare for 2009," read a statement on the site.

Stefanki, 51, guided Chile's Rios and Russian Kafelnikov to the top of the rankings. Roddick briefly reached number one five years ago.

The 26-year-old currently stands on eighth, lifting three titles in 2008. His best Grand Slam result was a US Open quarter-final and a loss to Novak Djokovic. (dpa)