Coach Juan Carlos Ferrero admitted it was ‘not easy’ for him to work with Alexander Zverev and added he ‘needs someone’ like Carlos Alcaraz after parting ways with the German .
In early 2018, Zverev and Ferrero ended their partnership and their split was not a happy one. At the time, it was reported that Ferrero had issues with Zverev’s professionalism, while the German wanted more freedom when not playing tournaments.
At the end of 2018, Ferrero began working with a teenage Alcaraz. Four years later, Alcaraz is a Grand Slam champion and the youngest number 1 in tennis history. Ferrero advocates hard work and professionalism and Alcaraz has fully embraced his coach’s philosophy.
Ferrero admires the professionalism of Alcaraz
“He’s like another son to me, the eldest. He’s my second player as a coach and I think I keep learning from him and he’s learning from me.
We are both growing at the same time. He’s a very nice guy and it’s very easy to work with him. What I do know is that I needed something like this because after working with Sascha [Zverev]it was not so easy for me, it is not the same culture, he understands the meaning of being professional a little differently, I needed to freshen up a bit and work with someone who had kind of the same character as me and who wanted the same things for the future and I think I found that in Carlos,” Ferrero told Eurosport.
After Alcaraz became Grand Slam champion at the US Open, Ferrero claimed the 19-year-old had unleashed around 60% of his potential. If true, the best of Alcaraz is yet to come.
However, it’s absolutely clear that Alcaraz is already one of the best players in the world and a top contender wherever he goes. In January, Alcaraz will try to win his first title at the Australian Open.
