Juan Carlos
Ferrero recalled his disappointment at missing the 2024 Australian Open,
although he ensured that it didn't affect
Carlos Alcaraz's performance in the
tournament. The Spanish coach underwent knee arthroscopy on his left knee,
which prevented him from traveling with the 20-year-old.
The
campaign of the 2-time Grand Slam champion in Melbourne came to an end in the
quarterfinals against the 6th seed,
Alexander Zverev, who outplayed Alcaraz for
much of the match and claimed victory with a scoreline of 6-1, 6-3, 6-7(2),
6-4.
Zverev's
triumph was the surprise of the quarterfinals, as Alcaraz was the only one of
the top four seeds who did not reach the semifinals. Recently, Ferrero
expressed his discomfort at not being present at the event and opined that it
was not a factor that negatively influenced 'Carlitos' game.
"Obviously
yes. After such a good preseason that Carlos had, missing a 'Grand Slam' is
annoying, I stayed at home annoyed. I tried until the end, but it couldn't be.
I believe that he gave a great level until the match that he lost, so in that
aspect we were calm."
It's not
the first time Ferrero has faced difficulties traveling with Alcaraz. In the
2022
US Open, when Alcaraz secured his first Grand Slam title, Ferrero
initially didn't travel with him but joined later in the event. Nevertheless,
when the coach isn't directly with Alcaraz, they still stay in communication.:
"When
he travels with both Samuel (López) and Antonio (Cascales) he is comfortable
and gives the same level, which is the important thing," Ferrero said.
"We
communicated ahead of the matches, to find out how he was doing and how
training was going. Communication cannot be lacking, although the person I
spoke with the most was Samuel,” he added.