Carlos Alcaraz’s shock split with Juan Carlos Ferrero last month put a bittersweet end to a highly successful seven-year partnership. During his time as chief coach, Ferrero guided Alcaraz to 24 titles, including six Grand Slam trophies. Since he turned professional at 15, Alcaraz has always had Ferrero around him, so it will be a bit strange at the upcoming Australian Open, when he won’t be there in Alcaraz’s team box.
Since parting ways, Ferrero hasn’t held back and has publicly spoken about the split. The Spaniard has criticised the people around Alcararaz, claiming they were giving him poor advice, and has also revealed that there is a contract dispute.
During a press conference in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open, Alcaraz was asked about Ferrero’s absence. “It was a decision we made mutually. In life, there are chapters that need to be closed, and we felt that this was the right time. I am very grateful for these seven years with Juan Carlos. Thanks in large part to him, I am the player I am today. I learned so much. But we both decided to close that chapter on good terms. We are still friends, we have a good relationship, we simply decided to go our separate ways,” he said.
Pointing out that it was a decision made with his team members to stop working with Ferrero, Alcaraz said, “It was an internal matter, a decision we made together. In a team as professional and close-knit as ours, no decision is made without discussing it and talking it over with everyone. So, it was something we handled internally, and we did it that way, jointly and naturally.”
Alcaraz also revealed that he hasn’t made ‘any changes’ to his playing style after Ferrero’s departure and has just improved on his existing skill set. “No, there weren’t really any changes. We focused on the things we needed to improve compared to last season. As I said, I have practically the same team as last year, only one member is missing. The rest are still the same. So we didn’t change the routine; we stuck to the same plan, but tried to improve some specific details,” he said.
