Ferrero on the 'scandalous' achievements of Alcaraz

The day before the final, Juan Carlos Ferrero’s words hold nothing but praise for Carlos Alcaraz, who will take on Novak Djokovic in the title bout at Wimbledon for the second consecutive year.

“We’re very happy,” admitted Ferrero before making his way to a training session with the 21-year-old. “I think Carlos’ performances have improved throughout the tournament. His confidence, above all, has kept building until reaching the final. But what he’s doing, having won the title at Roland Garros, flipping the switch to prepare in this way and reach the final, is scandalous. The level Carlos is producing, above all mentally, handling the pressure everyone puts on him without meaning to... it really is a 10 out of 10 for him.

“He’s surprising everyone. I think we’re very clear about his level, but generating it every week... People should know that’s tremendously difficult to do. That’s why there’s so much admiration for Rafa [Nadal], Novak [Djokovic] and Roger [Federer], who did it for so many years. Carlos is walking in their footsteps and that’s surprising even for the team.”

Many things about Alcaraz are surprising, among others, his precocity, his maturity, his records, his three Grand Slam titles, and his ability to adapt so well to a difficult surface like grass.

“It’s a surface you only play on for three weeks a year, and one that almost everyone struggles to adapt to, mainly because of the mobility you need on court,” explained Ferrero. “Because of his style of tennis, we saw when Carlos came to play the junior tournament that he would be able to adapt very well in the coming years, and really that’s what he’s doing. Once he’s really feeling good about moving well on court, his game is a perfect fit for the surface.”

Saturday, the day before the final, was a relaxed one for Alcaraz. After practising in the morning on the courts at Aorangi Park, he returned to the home he is renting a few metres from Wimbledon to rest, and surely to consider his upcoming clash with Djokovic, who leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 3-2.

“What we know [about Djokovic] is that 37 days ago he was going under the knife and now he’s in the Wimbledon final”, warned Ferrero. “You have to adapt to the reality, and the reality is that he has recovered from the operation very quickly and very well. I think he’s managed to play at a good level again, and the most important thing for him is to be in optimal physical condition. He's moving well, we’re seeing him slide without problems when he’s moving. We have to plan the match expecting a battle at least like that of last year. I’ve been telling Carlos it’s going to be five hours again, so his mental level must be very high.”

In 2023, Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in an epic five-set final, taking down the seven-time Wimbledon champion and sending out a warning shot to everybody else.

“Novak has so much experience, and Carlos can approach the match a lot calmer because he won last year and he can try and improve things,” Ferrero said. “He’s really growing in terms of experience, the way he feels, and experiences on court. Really, he’s increasingly realising that mental strength is something that’s really solving those problems for him a lot. We know he’s quite an emotional player on court, that he shows his emotions a lot, but I think that he’s handling it increasingly better. One year of experience is very useful.”

Even so, Ferrero considers Djokovic the favourite, despite the fact that he has recently recovered from a meniscus operation, which forced him to retire from Roland Garros.

“If we’re realistic, because of the experience he has of these kinds of finals and the number of titles he has at Wimbledon, the favourite is Djokovic,” Ferrero said. “Obviously, we know the potential Carlos has. In the team, we like to think that if Carlos plays well he will make things very difficult for Novak, but we know Djokovic’s level. Even on bad days he knows what to do and how to come through those problems, so we’re expecting a very high level in the match from Novak.”

All is set in London, let the grand finale of Wimbledon commence.

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