Ferrero, men’s tears after the success of Carlos Alcaraz

Novak Djokovic He is a man, and that’s how he tried to portray it Juan Carlos Ferrero (Valencia, 1980) to his student Carlos Alcaraz (Murcia, 2003) to face the tennis player with the most Grand Slams in the history of tennis. The Serb’s statistics are a wild Wimbledon, but the Valencian, one of the best tennis players of his generation, always had full confidence in the youngster from El Palmar, currently number one in the world. “If we increase the giant even more, it is impossible to conquer him,” Alcaraz’s coach pointed out in the introduction to the meeting with Spanish journalists, where he spoke about How did he withstand the pressure of facing a legend like the Serbian, a huge challenge that took its toll on him in the semifinals of Roland Garros after he saw that he could not give his best, mentally, tennis or physically. “You have to do the mental exercise to be calmer, more fluid and do your best,” he said. Things have changed a lot in recent months, moving from the dirt of Paris to the grass of London. Carlos has a great gift at 20 years old. “Do what you have to so that the long games are over, better with your serve,” Ferrero told Alcaraz before the start of the match, which began with a devastating defeat of Djokovic, but the Spaniard gradually increased his confidence and concentration. Murciano’s virtues mean he knows when, where and how to hit with the right guidance.

mental toughness

If the Murcian is today the biggest star in the tennis vault, it is partly thanks to him Ferrero, who taught him to manage time as well as implanted to isolate themselves from what surrounds the party of these dimensions. «don’t be afraid. His way of thinking from a long time is what really made him progress, climb and climb so fast in this very difficult world. Both know each other well because they work together because the former world tennis number one started training him at the age of 14. Twelve titles came from this union, including two Grand Slams. “He was a kid who played very well, but there was a lot to do physically and mentally. It motivated me a lot to be able to build a player like this from scratch,” Ferrero commented a few months ago, accepting without a problem that he is recognized today not for the symbolic Davis Cup, but for being the architect of Alcaraz’s meteoric rise.

The Valencian tennis player is one of the four Spaniards who, along with Carlos Moyà, Rafael Nadal and his student, managed to lead the top of elite tennis. The former “Spanish Navy” is one of the main reasons that explain the turning points of Carlos Alcaraz. A fundamental condition for success is to have an environment that knows how to manage all kinds of situations, in every tournament Murcian is seen going to Onteniente’s eyes to serve as a guide about where to hurt his opponents, the keys to improving his game or hitting breaks or serving when a player puts him on the line like Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, in which the Serb started to sweep in the first set.

The first thing he did to celebrate winning Wimbledon against a man who had done it seven times was to go straight to the stands where his squires were and in whom he has every confidence to face moments of all kinds.

“Everyone” is the “boss” Juan Carlos Ferrero, whom Murcian thanks at every opportunity and tournament for his work: “Without him it would not have been possible to get here, I can only thank him», admits the tennis player who a few weeks ago at Queen’s won his first trophy on the green, and now at the ‘All England Club’ it has become part of his history.

“It is in his DNA to run and fight for all the balls, it is difficult to stop him. “Watching him train every day, we know what his potential was, but what made him grow at this rate was always thinking big,” Ferrero recently pointed out. The Valencian, once retired, had offers to train the best tennis players in the world. , and decided to devote himself to a teenager for whom he saw very special things.

«I saw him for the first time when I was 12-13 years old.. He came to the academy and we trained for one day, he was very small, but everyone was talking about him. I officially went to see him compete when he won his first ATP point, at the age of 14. I saw that match, in which he played very well in one set and made a big mess in the second. But he showed those differences that can be seen in players. At that age, he was a bit sloppy because he did a lot of drop shots, and he made the difference with his right hand, but it was spaghetti on a physical level. We didn’t even talk about working with him, but I already liked him,” said the former tennis player in September, when his student won the US Open and became the youngest ATP No. 1 in history. Ferrero himself was the last player to win number one at the US Open, and he also did it in 2003, the year Alcaraz was born (19 years and four months).

He coached Alexander Zverez for eight months when the German was in the top five positions in the world, and he left him due to indiscipline, whom he criticized for having many distractions outside the tennis courts. At the end of this relationship, he began to form Alcaraz at just 15, who had the European under-16 championship as the best support on his record. “For me, it was a personal engagement and professional development, and as a coach, working with a child from a young age and preparing him well, so that he can progress. I suggested it, I told the family and they agreed, and the proximity helped.

“In the beginning, there were many coaches and many people who were when I took Carlos They said to me: ‘Where are you going? If you were number one in the world. How are you going to mess with a child to travel by car from here to there?“, said the former tennis player last May in Ser.

“He could have coached other great players, but he chose me,” admitted Alcaraz after reaching the top of world tennis, aware of the sacrifice made by the Valencian, with whom he formed a good friendship that transcends professional boundaries. the key that took you from promise to reality. The Spaniard arrived at Wimbledon with doubts inherent in inexperience and shook them off in just a few days. Always from less to more. Excellent on hard surfaces and clay, the Spaniard is now emerging as a phenomenon on grass.