"Working with Sascha, that wasn’t that easy for me" - Juan Ferrero reflects on his time coaching Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev was coached by Juan Carlos Ferrero for eight months between 2017 and 2018. Things did not end well between the two parties as they could not adjust to the differences in their approach to the game.
In a recent conversation with Eurosport, Ferrero revealed that cultural differences made it hard to coach the German player.
"Working with Sascha (Zverev) that wasn’t that easy for me, it’s not the same culture, he understands a little bit differently (the meaning of) being professional," Ferrero stated.
Ferrero, however, is delighted to be working with World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, stating that the duo share similar traits of character and want the same things.
"I needed to refresh a little bit and work with someone that was a little bit the same character as me and wanted the same things for the future and in Carlos I think I found it," he said.
The Spanish coach elaborated on how easy it is to work with Alcaraz and feels like they are learning from one another.
"He’s my second player as a coach and I think I keep learning from him and he’s learning from me. We’re both together growing up at the same time. He’s a very nice guy and it’s very easy to work with him," he added.
"We collided due to his lack of punctuality" - Juan Ferrero on Alexander Zverev
In a 2020 interview on the 3IGUALES podcast, Juan Carlos Ferrero accused Alexander Zverev of lacking punctuality as well as respect for his team members.
"There were protests. Stops, anger, distractions. At the time, we collided due to his lack of punctuality and lack of respect for the team members," Ferrero stated.
Ferrero lamented how youngsters today have too many distractions off the court. He pointed out that things were different in his era.
"They have too many distractions off the court. Phone calls, social networks, friends who suddenly appear… I watch them fooling around on Instagram and not thinking about tennis as it was in our time," he added.