Jim Courier recently praised Carlos Alcaraz for his remarkable performance at Wimbledon 2024. The American legend, in an interaction with Tennis Channel, opined that the defending champion’s ability to take inputs from coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero and the rest of the team, has played a big role in his success.
Courier lauded Alcaraz for always wanting to be a student of the game as well as Ferrero for doing an excellent job behind-the-scenes to keep him grounded.
“Ferrero has set up a system that Alcaraz finds extremely comfortable,” the 1993 Wimbledon finalist was quoted as saying.
He compared Alcaraz’s approach to another young tennis star, Coco Gauff. According to Courier, he has hardly seen Gauff being as receptive to suggestions and different ideas from her box, which has legendary coach, Brad Gilbert.
Lindsay Davenport, who was also a part of the interaction, echoed Courier’s sentiments. She claimed that the young Spaniard’s ability to adapt makes him one of the best players in the world. And that is because of listening to Ferrero out of genuine respect.
“Alcaraz’s ability to listen and adapt makes him a formidable player on the court, he listens so deeply and executes it so well,” Davenport added.
Ferrero recognized Alcaraz’s talent early on, bringing him to his academy back in 2017 to nurture his skills. This long-term investment in his development is paying off, as evidenced by his rise in the last 2 years.
The 3-time Grand Slam champion mirrors his idol, Rafael Nadal in this sense as well.
Alcaraz Takes a Leaf From Rafa’s Book on How to Be a Good Pupil
It is perhaps ingrained in Spanish culture that seniority matters, which makes the coach or mentor have the highest value in the eyes of their students. This is one reason why Nadal has been lauded, since he has taken inputs from his two coaches, Toni Nadal and Carlos Moya very seriously.
The coach-pupil bond in professional tennis is normally tricky because it is the pupil who pays the coach as part of their contract. As tennis players are freelancers technically, they become their coach’s bosses in a way and that sometimes, makes it difficult for a coach to be commanding.
This is why Uncle Toni was wise enough to not charge his nephew money, since developing him as a player was always his No.1 priority. It also made the relation genuine between them and made Rafa a well-rounded and a grounded player too.
Similarly, Ferrero is like an elder statesman for Alcaraz, who balances being friendly with him with being strict too whenever needed. Like Toni and Rafa, they began working with each other before Alcaraz became the success that he is today.
Alcaraz’s humility stands out from the rest clearly, just like Nadal’s. The 21-year-old is aiming to replicate the Spaniard for making it in two back-to-back Wimbledon finals. But for that, he will have to beat a resurgent Daniil Medvedev in the first men’s singles semi-final on Friday.
