Carlos Alcaraz‘s coach just spilled some pretty interesting details about how they prepared to beat Jannik Sinner at the US Open. And it sounds like they put in some serious work.
Juan Carlos Ferrero revealed that after getting beaten by Sinner at Wimbledon, they spent 15 days specifically studying how to handle the Italian’s game better.
It clearly paid off.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Alcaraz | 22 | 68,791 | 25 - 5 |
Sinner had dominated Alcaraz in that Wimbledon final, winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Sure, it wasn’t a blowout, but Sinner was clearly the better player that day. He could’ve won by an even bigger margin if he’d wanted to.
The two had quite the summer together. A few weeks before Wimbledon, Alcaraz pulled off one of the most incredible comebacks in recent memory at the French Open.
Sinner was literally three points away from winning the title. He was up 5-3, 40-0 in the fourth set.
But somehow, Alcaraz clawed his way back to win.
Then came their rematch at the Cincinnati Open. Alcaraz jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the final before Sinner had to retire with an injury. The heat in Ohio was brutal that day, and Sinner just couldn’t handle it.
But the US Open final? That was all Alcaraz.
He dominated Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in what he later called a perfect performance. The match was played indoors, so there were no weather excuses this time.
So what exactly did Ferrero and his team work on during those 15 days after Wimbledon?
"Let’s say we watched a little bit the matches from Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and we try to see the little things that we can improve to play in future matches against Jannik."
"And I think it was very important because we maybe practiced for 15 days, like very focused on the details that we have to improve to play against Jannik. And we know that in this kind of surface on hard courts, Jannik is always very, very difficult to play and wins a lot of matches."
When reporters pushed for more specifics, Ferrero basically told them to forget about it.
"Cannot, cannot. I cannot for sure. [Sinner’s coach] Simone [Vagnozzi] will hear about it."
Smart move. Why give away your secrets?
The Serve That Changed Everything
Ferrero was more willing to talk about one major improvement: Alcaraz’s serve.
It was absolutely transformed at the US Open. The 22-year-old was only broken three times during the entire tournament. That’s pretty amazing for someone who’s had serving struggles in the past.
Turns out, they’d been working on serve changes since December, right after the Australian Open.
"Yeah, this change, it comes from the Australian Open. I think we, you know, in past December we decided to change a little bit his movement of the serve and you know, we knew that we needed some time to get, you know, working on court."
"I think in this moment is maybe the moment that he has more improvement in his serve, and that is it’s been very useful on the court. An important moment. He’s using it a lot during the Cincinnati Open and also during the US Open. I think the server is one of the keys to win the tournament for sure."
The timing makes perfect sense. Alcaraz struggled with his serve consistency early in his career, and it cost him in big matches. But at the US Open, his serve was a weapon.
Being broken just three times in seven matches? That’s the kind of serving that wins Grand Slams.
It’s fascinating how much tactical preparation goes into these top-level matches. We see the final result on court, but there’s months of analysis and adjustment happening behind the scenes.
The Alcaraz-Sinner rivalry is shaping up to be one of the best we’ve seen in years. They’re 1-1 in Grand Slam finals now, with Sinner taking Wimbledon and Alcaraz getting revenge at the US Open.
Alcaraz will be back in action next week at the 2025 Laver Cup. He did withdraw from Spain’s Davis Cup tie against Denmark, probably to rest up after that US Open triumph.
Given how much they learned from studying Sinner’s game, you have to wonder what adjustments Sinner’s team is making right now. This tactical chess match between two of the game’s brightest stars is just getting started.
