Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has been the coach of Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz for a long time now, said in a recent interview that he is not at all worried about the World No. 2’s title drought since winning the 2023 Wimbledon. He said that not winning a tournament or two can not be considered a failure.
There has been a significant drop in the performance of Alcaraz, particularly since his loss to Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2023 Cincinnati Open, which brought his winning run to an end. However, Ferrero is of the opinion that it is not a big concern, as even players like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan did not win trophies every year.
Not every year you can win six or seven tournaments and that doesn’t mean it will be a failure. [Michael] Jordan and Tiger [Woods] didn’t win every Grand Slam and every ring every year. We cannot call that a failure. There are many positive things in a year even if you have earned less.
Juan Carlos Ferrero in an interview with Marca (H/T: Tennis635)
Carlos Alcaraz’s next big focus is on the 2024 Indian Wells. He won the tournament last year and will look to defend his title this time. However, it will not be easy for the Spaniard, as firstly, he just came out of a grade 2 ankle injury that he suffered during the second round of the Rio Open and secondly, players like Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev are all in top form and will all aim for the trophy.
Juan Carlos Ferrero says that the most important thing is that Carlos Alcaraz is happy
Ferrero further doubled down on his claim by saying that Alcaraz evolved a lot and learned a lot of new things during his ‘bad phase’ and that it would be useful for the future. He further explained that the Spaniard is training well and is happy, which helps him generate good tennis, which is what matters in the end.
Carlos Alcaraz (Sources: IMAGO)You may have evolved in aspects that can be useful for the future. That’s where we are. The most important thing is that he is happy, that he trains well, that traveling makes him happy and from there he generates good tennis, which is what he loves. We all agree on that.
Ahead of the Indian Wells, Alcaraz is also playing an exhibition match called ‘The Netflix Slam’, against Rafael Nadal. The World No. 2 claimed that it would be good practice ahead of the ATP 1000 event.
