Ferrero Unfiltered on Alcaraz: "With his approach to work, I doubt he can become the greatest of all time"
Alcaraz recently withdrew from the Madrid Masters 1000 due to an injury sustained in Barcelona. At the same time, his documentary aired on Netflix, giving fans a glimpse into the daily life of the four-time Grand Slam champion.
One segment in particular caused a stir, showing his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, speaking candidly about his pupil’s mentality:
"I’m starting to doubt whether Carlos can become the greatest player in history because of his approach to work and sacrifice. It’s so different from the Big Three."
In this clip, the former player speaks directly to the 21-year-old, and to say the least, the 2003 Roland-Garros winner doesn’t mince his words:
"We must learn from our mistakes. You need to find the balance between vacation, training, and motivation. And it’s not easy. You were invited to a Formula 1 weekend, which I didn’t think was right for you, but you went anyway.
There will be many times when I won’t agree with you. There will be plenty of moments when you’ll want to do something else. As you mature, you’ll understand what you need and what you really should be doing.
We’re here to help you and tell you things. Novak is extremely careful with his diet, he sleeps as much as he needs to, and he trains as much as he must. It’s absolute dedication to being the greatest of all time."
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It confirms the perception that Alcaraz' priorities are making money (many exhibitions, focus on sponsor contracts) and appearances at events, before tennis training discipline. For the moment he can compensate with his natural talent, but he might be missing chances to get at the top. After getting to number 1 for a short period of time, due to exceptional favorable circumstances (covid, Djokovic excluded), he's just getting by around rank 3 ...