If all tennis lovers had their eyes glued to their screens, this Tuesday morning, to watch the quarter-final of the Australian Open won in three sets by Carlos Alcaraz against Alex de Minaur, undoubtedly had something else planned.
Since the surprise announcement of the end of his collaboration with the Spanish prodigy last December – at the request of the Alcaraz clan – Juan Carlos Ferrero has distanced himself from tennis courts to get closer to the golf greens.
A few days ago, he announced that he had become the coach of the young Spanish golfer, Angel Ayora (21 years old).
A collaboration that he detailed during an interview for the specialized media Ten Golf. But Ferrero obviously did not escape questions concerning Alcaraz, his former partner whom he trained and polished for 7 years and whom he accompanied to the top of world tennis.
“I needed to take a breather (after the end of the collaboration with Alcaraz), explains the former world number 1. When you’ve been at the highest level for seven years, a change of scenery always feels good, but always while remaining linked to the competition. And even though right now it’s through golf, I love that the guy I’m with is winning and learning and improving. Staying connected to tennis is what I love and it’s my world: the academy (it has its own structure with the Juan Carlos Ferrero Tennis Academy in Villena), and maybe train a player in the future, we’ll see. »
But this return to tennis still seems too premature despite “several offers on the men’s and women’s circuits. » For Ferrero, the pain seems to be always present and sharp.
“Obviously, it’s difficult when you see him play and you see the whole team sitting in the chair, it’s not easy,” admits the former mentor. Of course, I’m very happy because he wins, he plays very well, he hasn’t lost a set yet in the competition. I think he’s playing at a very high level, so that’s it, just congratulating him and wishing him to continue at full strength. »
