Carlos Alcaraz's coach Juan Carlos Ferrero on Wimbledon glory: ‘We copied Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic’
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Published 17/07/2023 at 08:59 GMT
Carlos Alcaraz's coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, was full of pride after seeing the Spaniard overcome Novak Djokovic in an epic Wimbledon final on Sunday. The 20-year-old won 1-6 7-6 6-1 3-6 6-4 to secure the second Grand Slam title of his career and his first at the All England Club. What made the achievement all the more impressive was that this was only Alcaraz's fourth tournament on grass.
'This is a huge moment' - Wilander on whether Alcaraz win over Djokovic was 'changing of the guard'
Carlos Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero has revealed to Eurosport the approach taken against Novak Djokovic to achieve a first Wimbledon men’s singles title for his charge.
The 20-year-old was competing in just his fourth competition on grass, and he overcame the 23-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic in Sunday’s epic final at the All England Club to claim his second Grand Slam title.
Former world No. 1 Ferrero identified the respective styles of Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer and revealed that he and Alcaraz took elements from each star heading into the tournament.
When asked by Eurosport's Mats Wilander and Barbara Schett about the key to Alcaraz’s quick adaptation to playing on grass, he said: “It's very difficult to say, I think he takes things on board very quickly, and we've also seen a lot of videos of players that move very quickly here.
"So, we copied a little of Murray, Roger and Novak, and he tries to copy a little bit the same. In the end, it wasn't easy, but we did it.”
Ferrero also highlighted how Alcaraz’s camp took inspiration from his semi-final win over Daniil Medvedev, who adopts a similar style to Djokovic.
"We said that he would have to play more or less the same level that he played against Medvedev," he explained.
"Medvedev is on the baseline all the time and Carlos likes to use the slice to bring the opponent to the net. That was something we needed to do against Novak, so it was one of the keys to break his rhythm.
"In the end, I think he was very brave in the way he finished the match.”
Alcaraz’s triumph at Wimbledon was the Spaniard’s first at a Grand Slam since his maiden major success at the US Open in September last year.
Ferrero said lessons had been learnt following that success, and stressed the importance of Alcaraz having some downtime ahead of this year’s Grand Slam across the Atlantic.
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Carlos Alcaraz
Image credit: Getty Images
"He's going to have some rest to reset a little bit and go to the United States feeling powerful and fresh again," he said.
"I think we've learnt a lot of things after the US Open, so we have to do things a little bit differently here.
"He and the team know this, and I think we are ready to do things a little bit better."
Wilander was also full of praise for Alcaraz and believes he has what it takes to stay at the highest level for many years to come.
"Once you love this tournament and love the grass, you are going to be coming back and feeling like you can win it every year," he said.
"I think we are seeing a multiple Wimbledon champion before our eyes right now. Alcaraz is a complete player at 20 years old.
"It is going to be incredible what he achieves because this was maybe the best Wimbledon match in terms of its level that I have ever seen."
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