Ferrero speaks out on Jannik Sinner’s knockout and runs for office
Former Carlos Alcaraz coach Juan Carlos Ferrero in an interview with Corriere della Sera commented on what is happening at Roland Garros: “There is no Alcaraz, who on clay would have been the favorite, and Sinner lost right away. For everyone else it was an awakening: they opened their eyes and thought that this is the chance of a lifetime. I see Zverev as better equipped, in any case we will have a new Slam winner after the last nine dominated by Carlos or Jannik. In perspective, it’s an interesting change: for at least a couple of years those two will maintain their superiority, but Paris 2026 marks a change of pace for the chasers, who have realized that Sinner is not unbeatable.”
Sinner and Alcaraz will react: “It’s a situation I know well: for years I coached Carlos for the purpose of beating Jannik. The improvements, that is, were calibrated specifically on Sinner, and we’ve been doing that for years.”
On the Blue’s crisis in Paris: “It really looked like a physical crisis to me. He went up 5-1 in the third with Cerundolo hitting the ball very well, with total superiority. Then the collapse. On 4-1 I saw him walking back to the towel walking differently. I thought, how strange… It was hot but there were no preconditions for what happened. The reason, in my opinion, is to be found in the previous months: he played a lot, too much, without giving himself time to recover. I was sure he would experience fatigue during Roland Garros but I was thinking more ahead. It is unbelievable that with Cerundolo he could not last one more game.”
On the heat problem, Ferrero put it this way, “The place of origin plays a role: probably Jannik has a higher tolerance of cold than heat. I don’t think that as a child, before moving to Bordighera from Piatti, he trained in humid and hot conditions. Unlike Carlos, who was born in Murcia, in southern Spain. Here in Villena it often happened that, on a hot day, I would keep him on the court longer just to get him used to the suffering of those temperatures. Of course Jannik can improve. The past helps him: he has won twice in Australia, where it is not cool, in Miami and in New York, which can be very humid.”
Ferrero has high regard for Sinner, and in particular of one of his talents: “He is very quick to understand what he needs to improve. Remember that Sinner-Alcaraz in Paris Bercy in 2021, the first Atp challenge? Well then Jannik played only cross court: no longline, no volley, no bunt. I saw on the court an extraordinary hitter, nothing like the player of today. In the head he is a rock, and he is a sponge: he learns right away.”
On the comparison between the two champions: “They play it on details. Carlos is more dynamic, he has more strokes, he knows how to take the rhythm away from Jannik, who likes to play mainly in one way: fast, hitting at the same height. At his pace, he is very difficult to beat. For me, 100 percent, Carlos is a hair above: like 55 percent to 45 percent. But between those two, they have been and always will be very open matches.”
Ferrero doesn’t say no to a hypothetical future as Sinner’s coach: “Just a few months ago, I would have told her no: the break with Carlos was fresh, I wouldn’t have been ready. But today that I feel stronger, I answer: why not? Sinner loves to work hard and is willing to do anything to stay No. 1: as an attitude, I like him. It would be great to coach him.”
