Juan Carlos Ferrero Admits Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open Win Over Jannik Sinner ‘Surprised’ Him

Before being denied his historic 25th Grand Slam title by Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final, Novak Djokovic secured a shock five-set victory over two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinal.

That defeat at the hands of the 38-year-old shocked the tennis world, including Alcaraz’s former coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero. The 2003 French Open champion, who split with Alcaraz last December due to failed contract negotiations, sat for an interview with Marca, during which he said he was worried about Sinner’s physical condition due to his defeat to the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

Yes, I was surprised that he lost to Novak. Especially because he had beaten him quite clearly in the last few matches. I’m a little worried about his physical condition because he already had problems at the beginning of the tournament. It’s also true that Novak is Novak, and when he’s playing at 100%, he’s always very difficult to beat. But I wouldn’t say that Sinner disappointed me by losing to Novak because the same thing happened to Carlos last year.

Last year, it was Djokovic who ended Alcaraz’s Australian Open run in the quarterfinals in four sets. But since then, they have met two times, with Alcaraz winning both times.

Djokovic snapped his five-match losing streak to Sinner with that victory. The Italian ace went on to suffer a quarterfinal exit at the Qatar Open but ended both Indian Wells and the Miami Open in his favor, becoming the eighth man to complete the Sunshine Double.

While both Sinner and Alcaraz are in Monte Carlo for the third Masters 1000 of the season, the last match that the Serb played was against Jack Draper in the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters. He skipped the Miami Open and also won’t be playing the Monte-Carlo Masters, where last year, he suffered an opening-round exit.

Juan Carlos Ferrero explains how Carlos Alcaraz can become the best player ever

Carlos Alcaraz, even though he is taking home the Majors one after the other, still has a long way to go to break Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam record. Juan Carlos Ferrero has full belief in his former protege to become the best player in history, but to reach that goal, Ferrero said Alcaraz needs to stay motivated.

Yes, of course. What he needs to do is keep his motivation intact. He needs to stay motivated when he’s achieving all the goals he’s set for himself, and then, when his motivation isn’t at 100%, professional discipline has to kick in. I think Carlos will stay motivated because he knows he has some very important players ahead of him, players who have achieved great success, and he wants to be one of them.

Juan Carlos Ferrero told Marca

Alcaraz, after his Australian Open and Qatar Open wins, failed to reach the final of the Indian Wells and the Miami Open, losing in both events to Daniil Medvedev and Sebastian Korda, respectively.

In Monte Carlo, Alcaraz will be defending 1,000 points. Last year in the event, he lifted his third Masters 1000 title on clay here by defeating Lorenzo Musetti. He, in fact, has 4,300 points to defend on the clay swing, thanks to his wins in Monte Carlo, Italian Open, and the French Open last year. Alcaraz is chasing his career’s 12th clay-court title in the tournament.

If he fails to win the title and Jannik Sinner emerges victorious, he will lose his No.1 ranking to the four-time Grand Slam champion. Sinner, last year, reached two finals on the surface, losing both times to Alcaraz (Italian Open and the French Open). Alcaraz and Sinner have yet to face each other in a tournament this year.

Also read: Ex-Coach of Jannik Sinner Wants Him to Hire Andy Murray When Darren Cahill Decides to Retire

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