Alexander Zverev: What Was the Ugly Controversy Between Him and Carlos Alcaraz’s Coach Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2017?

Alexander Zverev leaves no stone unturned and defeats Casper Ruud to set up a French Open final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz. But do you know that both of them have a deep history, not as players or rivals, but in the form of one player and another’s coach? In the past, it was the German tennis player and Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero‘s partnership that created a fuss.

Carlos Alcaraz is presently being coached by the 2003 Roland Garros champion. But Ferrero already had an unsuccessful eight-month engagement with Alexander Zverev in 2017 and 2018. Because of the issues and conflicts they had, their relationship attracted a lot of attention.

Following the split, Ferrero chastised the 27-year-old tennis player, claiming that his present employment with Alcaraz had made things “easy” following the rocky coaching stint with him. Ferrero brought out the sharp contrasts in their business connections by comparing his experiences with those of the two players he had ever mentored.

The 44-year-old former player stated, “I trained Zverev for eight months and I noticed that. He used to go back and forth a lot in the same match and that’s why I think he couldn’t win a Grand Slam yet. That irregularity leads him to play the fifth set heads or tails.”

Ferrero and Zverev were said to have frequently disagreed, with reports stating that the current world No. 12 frequently arrived late for practice sessions. Ferrero has now criticized the 25-year-old for being tough to work with, drawing comparisons between their working relationship and his cooperation with Alcaraz.

Currently in the running for his first ever Grand Slam, Alexander Zverev is in a precarious position. But per Ferrero, who will be watching his current and former mentees competing, the German needs more discipline to win a Slam.

Zverev himself stated before Paris that he wasn’t mature enough to win a Grand Slam yet. Certainly, Ferrero said this in 2020 and four years later, Zverev is much the same player. But he’s a slightly different person now, not to mention a grown player. Even compatriot Boris Becker had words of praise for him recently, “He’s a more mature guy now; a more mature player.”

But for Ferrero, Zverev of the past was not preferable to Alcaraz of the present.

“It is not the same culture and he understands in a slightly different way what it means to be professional. He needed to reset a bit and work with someone who had the same character as me and who wanted the same for the future and I think I found that in Carlos,” the coach said.

This disparity draws attention to the difficulties Ferrero encountered when working with Zverev and contrasts it with his more easygoing and fruitful partnership with Alcaraz. However, the Spanish coach, training the two-time Grand Slam champion, talked about how he is the second-best player he has coached in his career till now.

Juan Carlos Ferrero praises Carlos Alcaraz as a player

In a conversation with Eurosport, he stated, “Carlos is like another son to me, the eldest of them. He is the second player I have coached, and I think I can learn from him and he from me. We grow together at the same time. He’s a great guy and it’s very easy to work with him.”

After his problematic connection with Zverev, the 2003 French Open winner acknowledged that he needed a player like Alcaraz, saying, “I know I needed something like that because working with Zverev was not easy for me.” Ferrero stressed that his partnership with Alcaraz was all the more gratifying and invigorating because of the difficulties he had with Zverev, such as their regular arguments and problems with punctuality.

Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on the ugly history the German tennis player has with his French Open final opponent’s coach? Do let us know in the comment section below.