Carlos Alcaraz, coach reveals key to success with Jannik Sinner
Juan Carlos Ferrero, coach of Carlos Alcaraz, commented on his student’s triumph at the Us Open in the final against Jannik Sinner at a press conference. It is the sixth Slam title for the Murciano: “I set short-term goals, in the end I cannot think if Carlos will win 20 Grand Slams; we have to live day by day. Obviously the potential is there, we don’t deny it. I think he is a guy with a lot of potential to win so many titles, so many Slams, but we don’t take anything for granted; nothing is automatic, everything has to be built. Now, to get to the final in Australia again, you have to prepare well in December and get to another Slam final. We think of Carlos as someone who will always fight for titles, we wish it and we think it, but we know it is very difficult, and we work on that”.
The turning point was the Wimbledon final, which he lost to Blue: “After Wimbledon, we asked him to improve some things to prepare for the matches against Jannik, and in about ten days he improved them significantly. It is amazing how good he is at quickly improving the aspects he needs to work on. It was very important, because we practiced for 15 days very focused on the details we needed to improve in preparation for Jannik. We know that on this surface, the hard courts, it is always very difficult to play against Jannik and he wins so many matches. Yes, I think it helped a lot, because Carlos understood what he had to improve a lot, and I was very focused on that but I cannot reveal these details otherwise Simone Vagnozzi would find out”.
“Carlos did 100% – added the Spanish coach – It’s easy to say and very hard to do: his performance was perfect. He was always committed to going for the game, he tried to put pressure on the opponent before Jannik. I think that’s one of the keys. These guys shoot the ball, both of them, very, very hard, and whoever hits first takes advantage in the point. Carlos has maybe more variety in his game, he can slice, go to the net and do more things than Jannik, and I think that helps change the dynamics a little bit. But I would say it was a perfect match for Carlos and an incredible performance”.
The new world number one also impressed on serve: “This change came from the Australian Open. I think last December we decided to change his movement on serve a little bit. We knew it would take time to work on it on the court. I think right now his serve has made the most progress, and it has become very useful on the court, and in important moments he uses it a lot. Both in Cincinnati and at the US Open, I think the serve has been one of the keys to winning tournaments, without a doubt”.
