"The thing that I like the most about him is he's able to adapt his speed to anyone he's playing" - Juan Carlos Ferrero on Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz is off to a 24-3 start on the year.

Juan Carlos Ferrero, who coaches Carlos Alcaraz, believes that the teenager's most impressive attribute is his ability to adapt his speed based on his opponents.

The 18-year-old is widely touted as a future World No. 1 and is currently among the best players on tour. Alcaraz has won 24 of his 27 matches this year, racking up titles in Rio de Janeiro, Miami and Barcelona. His triumph at the Conde de Godo last week made him the youngest player in 17 years to debut in the top 10 of the ATP rankings.

Ferrero said that the right-hander, who opened his campaign at the Madrid Masters with a win over Nikoloz Basilashvili, moves impressively for his age in a podcast episode with ATP's Tennis Radio podcast.

"We focus so much about movement. When I first arrived, his coordination (balance and footwork), his movement were not the best. I've been working on that for three years now. Now it's so much better. Still, he needs to improve. Footwork he can improve, but it's impressive how he moves. He can slide on the court. I'm very impressed about that."

¡Espectacular debut! 🙌🏻

🇪🇸 @alcarazcarlos03 supera a Basilashvili (6-3, 7-5) y alcanza los octavos de final del #MMOPEN. https://t.co/Lgo60CQTwd

The former World No. 1 remarked that Alcaraz's ability to adapt to the speed of his opponent is perhaps his biggest attribute. He added that the teenager developed this facet of his game after practicing with Roger Federer on the grass at Wimbledon and Dominic Thiem on the Rio de Janeiro clay.

"The thing that I like the most about him is he's able to adapt his speed to anyone he's playing. That's very difficult. When he was 15-16, he practiced with Federer at Wimbledon and Thiem in Rio de Janeiro. You could feel that physically he wasn't this strong as he is now, but he was able to hit the ball as strongly as the other one was."

"Every time he steps on the court, he thinks he can win" - Juan Carlos Ferrero on Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz is destined for greatness.

Further dissecting his ward's game, the Spaniard added that Alcaraz is an aggressive player and has a penchant for going to the net. But more importantly, he has a big-game mentality and enters the court to win, regardless of the opponent.

"He likes to go deep on the court. He likes to go to the net. He likes to be very aggressive all the time. Mentally, he's very hungry. Every time he steps on the court, he thinks he can win, doesn't matter who he's going to play."

Ferrero said that Carlos Alcaraz has a good forehand and backhand, but needs to improve the consistency and precision of his serve.

"About forehand, serve and other things, he still has to practice on his serve, to make the serve more consistent, good direction. Forehand's really good. Backhand's really good. He's very complete, but he still has to keep working."

Men's singles R16 🔒

🇷🇸 Djokovic vs 🇬🇧 Murray
🇵🇱 Hurkacz vs 🇷🇸 Lajovic
🇪🇸 Nadal vs 🇧🇪 Goffin
🇬🇧 Norrie vs 🇪🇸 Alcaraz

Rublev vs 🇬🇧 Evans
🇧🇬 Dimitrov vs 🇬🇷 Tsitsipas
🇨🇦 Auger-Aliassime vs 🇮🇹 Sinner
🇮🇹 Musetti vs 🇩🇪 Zverev

Who are you rooting for? #MMOPEN

Alcaraz will take on Cameron Norrie ahead of a likely blockbuster quarterfinal showdown with compatriot Rafael Nadal at the Madrid Open.