Andy Roddick says Juan Carlos Ferrero doesn’t get enough credit for his coaching work with Carlos Alcaraz, and he explained why.
Ferrero was a wonderful tennis player in his own right, winning a Grand Slam and being number one on the ATP Tour. His career possibly never turned out the way many thought it would when he became number one early in his career, but he’s still a respected tennis name in all circles.
After finishing his career, the experienced Spaniard turned to coaching and worked with big names like Alexander Zverev. Then he signed up to coach a young talent named Carlos Alcaraz, and the rest is history.
Andy Roddick says Juan Carlos Ferrero doesn’t get enough credit for his coaching work with Carlos Alcaraz, and he explained why.
Ferrero was a wonderful tennis player in his own right, winning a Grand Slam and being number one on the ATP Tour. His career possibly never turned out the way many thought it would when he became number one early in his career, but he’s still a respected tennis name in all circles.
After finishing his career, the experienced Spaniard turned to coaching and worked with big names like Alexander Zverev. Then he signed up to coach a young talent named Carlos Alcaraz, and the rest is history.
Alcaraz recently won his third Grand Slam trophy against Zverev, and who knows how many more they will win together? Roddick spoke about Ferrero, explaining how he doesn’t get enough credit for his coaching work.
“[Juan Carlos] Ferrero too often gets lumped into this celebrity coaching thing. I right now as I stand, I don’t think I could see a 14-year-old on Earth where I would give up my life as it currently stands to go work with a 14-year-old to develop them into a champion that is not the same as someone coming in with a 21-22 year old who’s already kind of established or won Slams. He has developed a Grand Slam champion as a celebrity coach that is extremely different.”
Roddick also delved deeper, explaining the clearly visible influences of Ferrero in Alcaraz’s game. The former number one was known for his impeccable technique, and he’s instilled that in Alcaraz as well.
“There’s the technical part which he’s never not prepared for, like his technique is phenomenal and he’s developing a slice that looked a little weird to years ago and you kind of can see that that’s a continuation, the strategic part of it and how to deliver a strategic message and also how to articulate that message.”
Ultimately, it’s just a tremendous job done by Ferrero with the young Spaniard, and it’s far from something anybody could do.
“To teach someone to play completely different than you did takes a certain amount of like a lack of ego and I don’t think Ferrero as much credit as he gets for the job he’s done I still don’t think it enough.”