World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz says he has a special relationship with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and insists he wouldn’t change his coach even if he had a chance to replace with Roger Federer. Ferrero, the 2003 French Open champion, has guided Alcaraz to a Grand Slam title, two Masters titles, and the top ranking in the world.
Alcaraz and Ferrero seem to be a perfect fit for each other and the 19-year-old appears to absolutely love what Ferrero brings to the tabke. During his appearance on Spanish television program El Hormiguero, Alcaraz was asked whether he would consider changing Ferrero if Federer offered to coach him.
“I couldn’t. I’ve always said that Juan Carlos is my second father, I wouldn’t change him for anything in the world,” Alcaraz said of Spanish television program El Hormiguero, per Eurosport Espana.
Ferrero surprised by Alcaraz’s success
Alcaraz is having a stunning start to his success.
At the of 19, Alcaraz has already accomplished far more than what the majority of players accomplish in their lifetime. “It’s happening very quickly, it’s a surprise to everyone, except to me, because I train with him every day and I know what he can do,” Ferrero said.
“I was sure that if it wasn’t this year, it would be the next. Now we want to keep going”. The scary part is that Ferrero feels that Alcaraz has just reached the 60% of his potential. “I think he’s at 60 per cent of his game, he can improve a lot of things, we know that he has to keep going,” said Ferrero.
“Now he’s No. 1 he has to keep winning, we know that and I’ll remind him of it. He has to improve his return, and his serve, his backhand in certain situations, consistency, trying to keep his head… They are little details that all players have to improve on up until they retire”.
