Carlos Alcaraz was among the top favorites to win his maiden title at the Australian Open earlier this year. The Spaniard has won every Grand Slam title except the Australian Open but suffered a disappointing end to his campaign, losing against Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinal Down Under. Nonetheless, what was impressive to see was that he bounced back strongly and won the title in Rotterdam in his following tournament which invited praise from his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Earlier this month, Alcaraz defeated Alex de Minaur in the summit clash in Rotterdam to clinch the title and he showed tremendous grit and determination to win the trophy there after a disappointing campaign Down Under. During an exclusive interview with Eurosport, Ferrero hailed Alcaraz’s attitude of not giving up.

He said, “I thought that Carlos’ motivation would drop when going from playing a Grand Slam to playing two ATP 500 tournaments, but he has shown that maturity is becoming very important for him right now. He played very well in Rotterdam and at the start here in Doha. And I’m mainly referring to his attitude.”

Meanwhile, this isn’t the first time in recent history that we have seen Alcaraz make a strong comeback after things not going his way. Last year, he bowed out of the US Open in the second round but came back strongly in the Laver Cup to help Team Europe clinch the title. Thus, Ferrero was all praise of Alcaraz’s mentality of not giving up and emerging stronger from his setbacks. Further, Ferrero also talked about some tweaks made in Alcaraz’s schedule this year and how it will affect him going forward.

Juan Carlos Ferrero explains a change in Carlos Alcaraz’s schedule

Last year, the Spaniard skipped the indoor tournament in Rotterdam and instead focussed on the outdoor hard-court tournaments and the subsequent clay-court tournaments. However, his coach wanted Alcaraz to improve his record in indoor hard court tournaments which have a different bounce than the usual hard courts and thus, he played in Rotterdam this month. As a result, Ferrero was asked to elaborate on Alcaraz’s change in schedule this month.

He revealed, “I wanted him to improve on indoor surfaces. Not so much on hard courts (the surface he plays on in Doha), because he has a very good level there. The Rotterdam tournament always has a very tough draw, with names of very important tennis players. It is always difficult to win there. Victory is worth double.”

Alcaraz didn’t disappoint his coach as he went on to win the title there. The Spaniard is currently in Doha and has reached the quarterfinal of the Qatar Open and will take on Jiri Lehecka in the last-eight clash later today. Can Alcaraz win back-to-back titles by prevailing in Doha? Let us know your views in the comments below.