Carlos Alcaraz was sidelined for a week after rolling his ankle at the Rio Open, extending his title drought that goes back to Wimbledon last year.
The Spaniard’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, however, is not too worried about the recent results. Speaking to Marca in his latest interview, the coach noted that Alcaraz came agonizingly close to winning the title in Cincinnati.
He added that winning a title every tournament was very difficult and while Alcaraz always steps out looking to win each match, he didn’t have a “have to win” mindset.
“[Carlos Alcaraz] has been achieving good results. The Cincinnati tournament was a shame because we were one point away,” his coach said. “At the US Open he made the semi-finals. When you play with such good people it is difficult to win every tournament.”
“For any player, not winning tournaments can affect your confidence level. For very good players it is important to achieve the results that one sets in their path. Of course Carlos wants to win, but… I don’t see him with any type of desire, and that is very important. He doesn’t have the stress of I want to win, I want to win,” he added.
Ferrero added that Alcaraz wants to continue improving and given that he is just 20, there’s plenty of scope for bettering.
“[Carlos Alcaraz] wants to do things well and wants to improve in every aspect that he can, and at 20 years of age there are many,” he said.