Carlos Alcaraz is the new Wimbledon champion. The young Spaniard won his first major title of the year by defeating the reigning champion Novak Djokovic. The final went on for nearly 5 hours, but Alcaraz held his own against one of the best players in the game.
This is not the first time that young Alcaraz has shown his mettle though. Following his Wimbledon triumph, a post of the young boy’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero has gone viral.
During Wimbledon 2019, Roger Federer was practicing against a young boy that Juan Carlos was training. That boy was none other than Carlos Alcaraz himself.
July 10th, 2019. Roger Federer was warming up before his Wimbledon QF against a “kid” that JCF was training. I was there and I remember JC saying to Roger “hit hard, he can handle it”. The kid was Carlos Alcaraz pic.twitter.com/Ug4O88ECOi
— Rossana (@Rossana_Capo) July 16, 2023
Juan Carlos, or JCF as he is known, urged the Swiss ace to go hard against Alcaraz during his warm-up before the quarterfinal. Ferrero told Roger to “hit hard, he can handle it,” such was his belief in Carlos.
Little video (that I took) of that Federer / Alcaraz practice at Wimbledon in 2019 https://t.co/aoWZcyD53L pic.twitter.com/zDn2fws2cj
— naturelle (@naturelle13) July 17, 2023
This video has since gone viral among fans. It is clear that Ferrero saw tremendous potential in Alcaraz. The short video clip is a little taste of Alcaraz’s brilliance. He was able to keep up with the tennis maestro himself at the age of 16.
Who is Carlos Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero?
Juan Carlos Ferrero is a former French Open champion and world number one from Spain. He is currently the coach for Carlos Alcaraz. He lets his achievements as a player and coach speak for themselves.
The two met almost 10 years ago when Ferrero had just hung up his racket. Incidentally, Ferrero’s last match was against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.
Ferrero immediately spotted Alcaraz at his academy. According to him, Carlos’ talents were “Not hard to see,” he said. That marked the beginning of their player-coach relationship. They have broken milestone after milestone along the way.
When asked what about Alcaraz caught his eye, he said, “A boy that plays let’s say, different. A lot of drop shots; going to the net; dynamic on the court. Like freedom, very free on the court. Maybe I didn’t think he was going to be the Rafa of the future. But, of course, you think, ‘Oh, come on, that’s different. He plays good!”
He describes himself as a tough coach. Ferrero says, “When we are on the court, we are, we are there to practice. I don’t, I don’t like to waste time on the court.”
“I told Carlos that we have to be quality and not quantity. In the gym or on the court or even in my life. That’s how I see it.” he added.
It is heartwarming to see a player-coach relationship extend beyond the confines of the tennis court. Alcaraz has spoken about how he sees Ferrero as his second father. Juan himself sees Alcaraz as his fourth kid.
What this dynamic duo has achieved in the past couple of years is nothing short of incredible. We hope to see them reach greater heights in the years to come.