Juan Carlos Ferrero in an exclusive interview: "Tennis is my life"
In an interview with tennisnet.com , Juan Carlos Ferrero talks about his close connection to tennis, the common goals with protégé Carlos Alcaraz and explains how important tennis is in his home country of Spain.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Mar 09, 2022, 06:26 am
For you, the end of your career as a player was not even remotely a farewell to tennis - working with players like Alexander Zverev or Carlos Alcaraz as a coach and running your own successful academy. Do you ever get tired of this sport?
tennis is my life As a player I grew in the academy and beyond that I felt like we were growing together. Ending my professional career on the tour was made a lot easier because I knew I had the academy and would stay connected to tennis.
If you look back on your professional career: you won a Grand Slam tournament, were number one in the world - is there anything else that you are missing in your career?
I'm happy with what I've achieved as a player. As a coach, I'm enjoying the Tour in a completely different way now, with big new goals.
You played in a successful era of Spanish tennis just before Rafa Nadal reached his highest level. And now, with Carlos Alcaraz, a new, great hope for Spanish tennis is just around the corner. Have you seen a change in the perception of tennis in Spain?
Rafael Nadal has definitely increased tennis's presence in the Spanish media. It was already very high before, but Rafael Nadal took it to another level.
What do you think of the current status of Spanish tennis? GarbiñeMuguruza and Paula Badosa are at the top of the world for women, Rafael Nadal, Pablo Carreño Busta , Roberto Bautista Agut and of course Carlos Alcaraz are very far ahead for men.
Spain has been at the top of the world for a long time. It is definitely one of the top addresses for tennis: not only because of the Spanish players, but also because of the many players from other countries who train in Spain. The good weather, all the clubs, the coaches, the tournaments: if the professional players continue to support all of this so much, I think it will be easy for us to remain such a benchmark for a long time.
How do you manage to balance traveling with Carlos Alcaraz to the tournaments and running your academy?
It is extremely important that you can count on a good team for each of these tasks. Luckily I have a great team to help manage all of this.
In a conversation with the ATP a few months ago, you said that you can very quickly assess how quickly a player can develop. When you see that Carlos Alcaraz just made it into the top 20, aren't you a little surprised?
I know he can do it. He has the potential and is working hard for it, but I'm still a little surprised when he achieves his goals so quickly.
To what extent does your experience as a Grand Slam champion help you to coach a man like Carlos Alcaraz, who has the potential to soon fight for the big titles as well?
I have experienced many of the things that he has experienced and will experience in his career. This experience and the advice on how to deal with it help him a lot. That's a small but important advantage at this level.
At first Carlos Alcaraz looked like a clay court specialist, but now - at a fairly early stage in his career - he is also achieving great results on hard court. Is it your goal to make him a "complete player" who can compete on all surfaces?
The tour is mainly played on hard court. Accordingly, it is important to master the game on this surface. Carlos' game is great on hard court. In the club, on the other hand, he only grew up on clay courts, so of course he feels very comfortable on clay.
When I talk to coaches, I really like to come back to a quote from Javier Frana, who says that the main job of a coach is to help a player find their identity. Do you feel like Carlos has already found his identity?
I think so. He's still young and will of course continue to develop, but he seems to have settled on a certain style in many ways.
A few days ago, Carlos won his first ATP 500 title in Rio de Janeiro. What do you think Carlos can achieve this season?
We have high goals for this year. But the main goal is still for him to gain a lot of experience and keep improving. But we would like to end the year at least in the top 15 in the world rankings. Midway through the season we might aim higher if we can take that positive momentum with us.
He wants to be number one and I will do my best to help him achieve that goal.
Juan Carlos Ferrero on protégé Carlos Alcaraz.
Let's look a little further into the future. As you work with one of the most promising young players, who do you think will dominate men's tennis in five years?
We are working towards Carlos being among the very best in the world and being able to compete with the best. He wants to be number one and I will do my best to help him achieve that goal.
Another top player you have worked with is Alexander Zverev. In 2020 you said that the lack of consistency in his game still makes it difficult for him to win a Grand Slam. He seemed to have found that consistency in the last majors, but he still didn't manage to win the title. How do you see the current status of Alexander Zverev?
Sascha (Note: Alexander Zverev) has proven that he has the level to win a Grand Slam. Of course there are many good players and it's anything but easy. But I think he can do it if he keeps working so well.
Finally, a more personal question: You are now 42 years old. How long do you think tennis will remain so important in your personal and professional life?
I think I will always be associated with tennis. I live with my family at my tennis academy, so I think I will be at least partially involved with tennis in the future.
The interview with Juan Carlos Ferrero was conducted in writing.