"Dad has been No. 1, so for them to be No. 20 is ugh… what is that?" - Carlos Alcaraz's coach Juan Carlos Ferrero on his children
Carlos Alcaraz's coach Juan Carlos Ferrero has said that his children are dismissive of players ranked as high as number 20 in the world.
Ferrero, a former professional player, rose to the top of men's tennis in 2003. A formidable clay court player in his prime, the Spaniard won the 2003 French Open men's singles title. Three months later, he became World No. 1 and held the ranking for eight weeks.
The 2003 French Open was not the only success during Ferrero's decorated tennis-playing days. The Spaniard also won four Masters tournaments, which included the 2001 Rome Masters, the 2002 and 2003 Monte Carlo Masters, and the 2003 Madrid Masters. Ferrero also finished as runner-up at the 2002 French Open and the 2003 US Open.
After calling time on his playing career, the Spaniard became a coach. Following his controversial split from Alexander Zverev in February 2018, Ferrero took charge of Alcaraz in 2019. Under his tutelage, the 20-year-old has been ranked as high as World No. 1 and already has two Grand Slam titles under his belt; the 2022 US Open and the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
Ferrero, who married in 2015, is the father of three children. Recently, he opened up about how his children don't rate a World No. 20 player after gaining the awareness that their father was once the top-ranked men's player. The Spaniard also said that coaching Alcaraz, a former World No. 1, has also contributed to their attitude.
"For them being number 1 is a bit normal, right? 'Dad has been number one, now he has a player who has been number one,' they say. So, for them to be number 20 is, ugh... What is that? But hey, they'll figure it out." Ferrero said in an interview with La Nacion.
Juan Carlos Ferrero's latest outing with Carlos Alcaraz ended in disappointment
Juan Carlos Ferrero was unable to accompany Carlos Alcaraz to the 2024 Australian Open, where the World No. 2's run was ended by his coach's former pupil Alexander Zverev. At the time, Ferrero was recovering from a knee arthroscopy.
However, the Spanish coach returned to fitness earlier this month as he rejoined the 20-year-old's camp in time to prepare for the Argentina Open. Alcaraz won the ATP 250 tournament in 2023 after beating Cameron Norrie and he arrived in Buenos Aires as the top seed.
Alcaraz reached the semifinals this time around. However, his run was stopped in the semis by third seed Nicolas Jarry, who defeated Alcaraz 7-6(2), 6-3.