Spain’s young tennis star Carlos Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero has pointed out factors behind the world number two’s crushing defeat to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the ATP Finals.
The duo faced off in the semifinal of the last major tournament in 2023 in Italy’s city of Turin where the 36-year-old came out on top in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-2.
Ferrero, while talking to the media after the match, pointed out why Alcaraz has struggled against Djokovic in the recent past.
“Having Djokovic's level requires spending many hours playing on this type of court,” he said. “It is not an excuse, but the fact that the court is so fast has not benefited us. We had very rarely played in this type of situation against such good people.
“His mental level has meant that his tennis level was not there. With two mistakes the game is gone. You have to improve in what it means to be a professional all the time. These are things for a 20-year-old kid and he has to mature. To be a professional you have to control all areas.
“There are the three hours of training on the court and then there is the rest of the day is outside of it. You have to do things when you have to, train when you have to, have fun when you have to and disconnect when you have to.”
Earlier in the year, Alcaraz became the talk of the town after beating Djokovic in the final at Wimbledon in a five-set thrilling contest with a score of 1–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4.
Following that win, Alcaraz has now suffered two back-to-back defeats to the current world number one. Before losing in Turin, the 20-year-old suffered a defeat in the final of the Cincinnati Masters to Djokovic with a score of 5-7, 7-6, 7-6.
1 - With victory over Carlos Alcaraz in Turin, Novak Djokovic has become the first player to reach multiple finals at the ATP Finals after turning 35, since the event's inauguration in 1970. Evergreen. #NittoATPFinals | @DjokerNole @atptour @ATPMediaInfo
