"Whether that will distract him with his concentration on the court" - Ferrero's absence from Alcaraz's camp one of two scenarios from missing Australian Open final

Carlos Alcaraz's surprise split with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero has been by far the story of the off season. There has been plenty of discussion around the reasons for this, with the world number one attracting a lot of attention ahead of the Australian Open. Despite his incredible dominance, former British number one Tim Henman believes that this is one of the two things that prevent him from featuring in the final.

Back in December, Alcaraz posted an Instagram post with a heartfelt message to his former long-term coach, announcing that they would be parting ways. It was a huge surprise in the tennis world, something that many people were not expecting to hear.

Together, Ferrero oversaw Alcaraz become one of the dominant forces in tennis. He has win six Grand Slams, eight Masters 1000 titles, 24 ATP titles and has spent 54 weeks and counting as world number one.

It is yet to see the drastic impact that could be left by Ferrero's absence. The 22-year-ols will go into the season without the former Roland Garros champion by his side for the first time, a whole new experience.

Henman, among many tennis fans and pundits, has already commented on this huge news. He has given his latest opinion why Alcaraz may not reach the final, with his arch-rival Jannik Sinner also intertwined with the first scenario.

"If I were going to give two scenarios as to why Alcaraz and Sinner will not play in the Australian Open final, the first one is injury," Henman explained. "There's no doubt that the first tournament of the year, any player can be vulnerable going into best-of-five-set matches. That is one element that both Alcaraz and Sinner have to overcome, and I hope they will."

Going back to the main topic, the second reason was based solely on Alcaraz. "The second variable only applies to Alcaraz, and that is not having Juan Carlos Ferrero in his corner, and whether that will affect him psychologically, whether that will distract him with his concentration on the court," Henman queried. "Only time will tell. I was very surprised that they finished their partnership. And I will be really interested to hear what Alcaraz actually says himself."

The rumour mill has been going into overdrive with this news, with fans and pundits attempting to figure out who will have the honour and great responsibility of coaching of the six-time Grand Slam champion.

One of these claims came from former world number one Mats Wilander, who stated that he should go everything to get in Roger Federer. However, Henman was quick to disagree.

"I don't think Federer is necessarily the right person or has the inclination to coach, but I think there's been a lot of great Spanish players," Henman said, who was looking more realistic.

"I wonder whether he will look to work with a Spaniard, but he's got to make the right choice. He doesn't need to rush into it. He can obviously see who's out there because any tennis coach is going to want to work with Carlos Alcaraz. He's such an immense talent. But in the short term, the press conference and his performance at the Australian Open, it is under even more scrutiny just because of the decision he's made. I can't wait for it to get started."

The Australian Open will commence January 18, with Alcaraz set to put everything into it. The major event is the only one off his list, and he does not need any more motivation to lift the trophy Down Under.