Carlos Alcaraz dropped some major praise on coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, saying “everything I have done is thanks to him.” Alcaraz, who turned 20 in May, started working with 2003 French Open champion Ferrero in 2019. Ferrero, a former world No 1, has done wonders with Alcaraz so far as the 20-year-old Spaniard is already a two-time Grand Slam champion, a five-time Masters champion and he is also ranked at the world No 1 spot.
Reflecting on his four years with Ferrero, Alcaraz says the Spanish tennis legend is not only his coach but also like a second father to him.
Alcaraz: Everything I have done is thanks to Ferrero
“He was my mentor. Everything that I have done is thanks to him.
I learned a lot from him not only in the professional part, even the personal part as well. He’s my second father so he is really important person for me. Everything that I’ve came through at the beginning, he was experienced in that moment, and I learned about how to deal in a lot of tough moments, you know, and first things about everything.
So I am the person and the player that I am right now thanks to him,” Alcaraz said.Recently, Alcaraz lifted his first Wimbledon title after beating Novak Djokovic in the final. After the win, coach Ferrero admitted Alcaraz’s win gave him “some wonderful feelings” but also highlighted there was a lot of hard work that was put in before the 20-year-old achieved such a feat.
“I see a lot of emotion, a lot of hard work. A lot of people see our victory, but behind it there are many hours of work and a lot of time away from home. At the start of the tournament, we knew how hard it was to win, but we’d just won Queen’s and it didn’t cost anything to dream.
Even though he didn’t begin his final very well, he learned from what happened in Paris. We have reason to be excited and to think big with Carlos. He’s taken us through something wonderful, and it’s hard to express what I feel in words,” Ferrero told Spanish radio COPE after Alcaraz’s Wimbledon win.
