Carlos Alcaraz and Ex-Coach Juan Carlos Ferrero Are Set to Cross Paths Again at ATP Finals

Carlos Alcaraz has qualified for the ATP Finals for the fourth consecutive time in his career. The Spanish ace, in fact, finished the tournament as the runner-up last year, losing to arch-rival Jannik Sinner, who withdrew from the event this year due to his knee injury.

According to Marca, Alcaraz in Turin is set to cross paths again with someone who parted ways with him after last year’s ATP Finals. It’s none other than his former coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The 2003 French Open champion will be in Turin as part of the ATP No. 1 Club, which includes 29 players from different generations. Alexander Zverev will join the club as the newest World No. 1. Members of the club are invited to the season-ending party.

Alcaraz and Ferrero ended their partnership over failed contract negotiations. Ferrero then took a break, choosing not to coach a tennis player this season. After the split, Ferrero started coaching Spanish golfer Angel Ayora.

But he has planned to return to the tour next year. When he revealed in an interview that he would return as a tennis coach without naming who he would coach, the tennis world started guessing whose entourage he would join next. Ferrero later revealed that he has not yet signed a contract with anyone.

Alcaraz, meanwhile, will next compete at the Vienna Open. After the US Open, he defended his title in Tokyo but exited in the third round in Shanghai.

Juan Carlos Ferrero dismisses Alexander Zverev criticism after his two Grand Slam wins

Many believe Alexander Zverev won the French Open and the US Open only because he didn’t face either Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz. But Juan Carlos Ferrero hit back at the critics, saying his former protege deserves the two titles as well as the No.1 ranking.

He trains incredibly hard, he’s very professional, and he did everything he could to achieve this. That’s why saying today that he won because others were absent is irrelevant. You never know when injuries will strike. If you win a tournament while one of your opponents is injured, I don’t think you should take that away from him. Besides, he’s a player who faced them on equal terms. He’s not a player they consistently beat soundly.

Juan Carlos Ferrero told AS (H/T: Tennis365)

Before joining Alcaraz’s team, Ferrero coached Zverev for seven months, from July 2017 to February 2018. They parted ways after a disagreement at that year’s Australian Open, with Ferrero later accusing him of lacking professionalism.

In the end, it was a matter of us not understanding professionalism in the same way. He understood it one way because of his background, his customs, and his personality, and I understood it another. We decided not to continue, and that was that. I’ve always gotten along very well with him since. This year, for example, when he won at Roland Garros, I wrote to him. During all the tournaments and matches Carlos has played against him, there’s never been a problem.

Juan Carlos Ferrero added

Zverev was last seen in action in the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters, where eventual champion Alejandro Davidovich Fokina ended his run. It was the third tournament he played after the US Open, following the Laver Cup and the China Open. In Beijing, eventual champion Novak Djokovic beat him in the quarterfinals.

Zverev has already qualified for the ATP Finals, where he is a two-time champion, winning in 2018 by beating Djokovic and in 2021 by beating Daniil Medvedev. Beyond the two Majors, the German also reached the finals of the Madrid Open and Wimbledon, losing both to Sinner.

Also read: Novak Djokovic Told His Biggest Problem This Year Is Mental and Not Physical: “He’s Nervous in the First Round”