Carlos Alcaraz and his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero are known for their strong connection. After the US Open, a former player thinks they had a serious talk.
Fans believed Alcaraz needed a break following his loss to Botic van de Zandschulp at Flushing Meadows, which came not long after losing the Olympic gold medal match to Novak Djokovic. He felt so down that he didn’t want to pick up his racket.
But in Beijing, Alcaraz showed resilience by defeating Jannik Sinner in an intense match lasting over three hours. Despite losing the first set, he bounced back to claim victory. Fans might think this shows how determined he is.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇪🇸 Carlos Alcaraz | 21 | 68,791 | 25 - 5 |
Header Text: A Remarkable Achievement
This win marked his third consecutive triumph over Sinner in 2024. The Italian has only been defeated six times this season, with half of those losses coming against Alcaraz. This highlights how he consistently performs well against top players.
Alcaraz’s success at the China Open made him the first man in ATP history to secure ATP 500 titles on three different surfaces—a remarkable feat for someone so young with plenty of room for growth.
Ferrero was seen crying after Alcaraz clinched the Beijing title, an emotional reaction explained by their tough journey following the Olympic loss. Nicole Pratt mentioned on the AO show that Ferrero likely confronted Alcaraz about his US Open performance not meeting expectations.
“I feel what potentially happened … was a confronting moment that probably Ferrero delivered to Alcaraz and said: ‘You know what? That type of level [and] behaviour out on court, not showing the quality of who you are.'”
Pratt believes Ferrero and Alcaraz’s team had a difficult discussion about whether he should take some time off because continuing as before wasn’t an option.
“I would suggest the team have had a really hard sit-down with him and said: ‘OK, what do you want to do? Do you need a break, do you need a time-out, do we just call it quits this year? Because you can’t continue to go out and play like that, that’s for sure.'”
The former player also praised Ferrero’s dedication. Despite not needing to work with world No. 2 Alcaraz anymore, Ferrero continues because he loves it and believes in helping him reach new heights.
“The beauty of this relationship … is [Ferrero] doesn’t need to be out working with Alcaraz. He’s out there because he loves what he does and he believes Alcaraz still has so much to learn and achieve.”
Their bond was evident once more through Ferrero’s emotions after Beijing’s final—mentoring means everything to him as they chase success together.
What do you think about their journey?
