Ferrero: “Alcaraz’s game is similar to that of Djokovic and Federer”

Carlos Alcaraz has been one of the nice sensations within the little that has been disputed of the season in tennis on this 2020. The younger tennis participant from Murcia achieved his first victory on the ATP circuit on the age of 16 on the Rio Open and continues coaching to proceed including successes below the command of Juan Carlos Ferrero.

In an interview with the ATP, Ferrero analyzed Alcaraz's model of play, which he compares for his model of play with gamers like Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer. “He is very aggressive on a regular basis. Play close to the underside line. He is not the everyday tennis participant who solely performs on clay. He additionally likes taking part in on exhausting courts and loves taking part in on grass. Final yr was the primary time he performed on grass and he favored it. He loves to end the factors on the web. At first, after I met him, he was satisfied that his finest degree was on clay, however I believe he is now enhancing so much on exhausting court docket and I believe he can have the next degree on this floor, it might be fantastic. He is very aggressive from the again of the court docket and wants to enhance his serve slightly. However at 16 he does very nicely. If I’ve to evaluate him to somebody, his game is very similar to that of Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer. He is aggressive from the underside of the monitor and goes up to the web to end the purpose. “

Ferrero highlights the actual fact that Alcaraz has at all times confronted older gamers and his nice bodily capacity. “The very fact is that he has at all times competed in opposition to uncles older than him. He used to play with older gamers. Within the match in opposition to Ramos in Rio, he was 32 and Carlos was 16, and clearly an important factor for him is that he has improved so much bodily. That is the rationale why he was in a position to be within the match for 3 and a half hours and can play in opposition to gamers who’re older than him. “He additionally highlights his nice hand play and his capacity to run on the monitor. “He has very quick palms. He performs very exhausting with the backhand and the best on a regular basis. He is very quick going for the ball on the court docket and that is why he can play at a really excessive charge in opposition to these guys. In Rio we practice with Dusan Lajovic, Roberto Carballés and Dominic Thiem, and he is one of these guys who can play on the identical tempo because the participant on the opposite facet of the monitor. “

The extenista additionally revealed how he found Alcaraz when he was simply 14 years previous. “We held many tournaments on the JC Ferrero-Equelite Sports activities Academy. I noticed him for the primary time throughout a match and it helped that he lived very shut to the academy, in Murcia, an hour from right here. So it was simple to see him play video games. I bear in mind seeing him play video games at ITF Futures when he was 14 years previous and he scored his first level within the ATP Rankings. I used to be going to watch video games and I heard that there was a child with so much of degree with solely 14 years previous, so I drove to see him. His agent is the identical as Pablo Carreño's and he trains on the academy, so that helped to have a great relationship with him and carry him to our staff. “

Ferrero desires to take strain off Alcaraz, who many already think about to be the subsequent Rafa Nadal regardless of being 16 years previous. “He often hears so much that he is going to be the subsequent Rafa Nadal. It will likely be tough for him to do issues usually, to be calm and not to say 'why are they telling me this?' However he is already used to it as a result of many individuals right here in Spain inform him that he would be the subsequent Rafa Nadal. He is used to it and follows his personal path by working exhausting and making an attempt to make his personal race. In Spain it was way back that we had somebody 16 or 17 years previous taking part in at this degree. However the staff is by his facet, we strive to make a circle round him to strive to assist him take strain off, calm him down, do issues usually and go his personal means. “

Requested if Alcaraz can attain the extent of different younger skills resembling Auger-Aliassime or Sinner, Ferrero believes he can. “It's very unusual, you possibly can't discover many individuals who at 16 can play at that degree so simply. A yr and a half in the past I used to be taking part in in juniors and I haven't seen Carlos's game. I believe it might be just like the instances of Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner, who’ve already succeeded regardless of their youth. He is motivated to play these varieties of tournaments and these varieties of matches. It is crucial for him to be motivated and one of the keys is the staff round him, who helps him and retains him motivated on a regular basis to assist him be an expert on the monitor. “

Lastly, Ferrero acknowledged Alcaraz's psychological power whereas admitting that he tends to get nervous throughout his ward's matches. “His psychological power has taken an amazing leap. Bodily he is stronger than after I met him however his psychological power has improved probably the most. I’ve battled and performed a number of video games with him. I'm on the monitor all day and I can see his progress over the previous yr. When he performs, I'm nervous, as a result of once you work with somebody daily and you set targets for them early within the yr, you need them to attain these targets. When he performs I get nervous. As a participant he used to be calm, though now I get nervous seeing him. “