Carlos Alcaraz has been absolutely on fire this season, and it’s making people wonder something pretty interesting about his coaching setup.
Juan Carlos Ferrero has been Alcaraz’s main coach for years now. The guy’s been huge in helping the Spanish star become the world No. 2. But here’s the thing – Alcaraz has been playing incredibly well even when Ferrero isn’t there.
This year’s clay season was pretty amazing for the 22-year-old. He won the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Italian Open.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Alcaraz | 22 | 68,791 | 25 - 5 |
Then came that insane French Open final where he saved three championship points against Jannik Sinner. Talk about dramatic.
Sinner got him back at Wimbledon, beating Alcaraz in the final there. But even then, Alcaraz had won Queen’s Club just before Wimbledon started.
The Cincinnati Open was another big win for him. Sinner actually had to retire from that final after just 20 minutes, handing Alcaraz the title.
He also grabbed the Rotterdam Open back in February. Really, his only disappointing moments this year were losing in the Australian Open quarterfinals and not making the finals in Doha, Indian Wells, or Miami.
The coaching change that’s working
At the start of this season, Alcaraz’s team brought in Samuel Lopez as a second coach. Lopez had worked with Pablo Carreno Busta for years and actually helped Alcaraz before – he was there for the 2022 Miami Open win and the 2023 Queen’s title.
Having Lopez around means Ferrero doesn’t have to travel to every single tournament. The 2003 French Open winner can take breaks knowing his student is in good hands.
And the results speak for themselves.
When Lopez coached Alcaraz without Ferrero, they only had one real disappointment – losing to Jiri Lehecka in Doha. That’s it.
The other three tournaments where Lopez was the sole coach? Alcaraz won all of them. Rotterdam, Monte-Carlo, and Cincinnati all went to the Spanish star.
Ferrero was still there for the biggest moments – the French Open victory and that Wimbledon final run. And nobody should forget how much he sacrificed to help Alcaraz when he was younger.
But it’s pretty notable how well Alcaraz plays without his longtime mentor there. Ferrero has said before that he doesn’t plan on coaching Alcaraz forever. Based on these results, it looks like Lopez could handle things just fine on his own.
US Open title within reach
The US Open has always been the most unpredictable Grand Slam for the men. Roger Federer was the last guy to win it back-to-back, and that was way back in 2008 when he beat Andy Murray.
Before Cincinnati, most people thought Sinner was the obvious favorite. He’d won the last three hard-court Grand Slams, after all.
But that retirement in the Cincinnati final raised some eyebrows.
Sinner said he’d been sick since the night before, but he also looked really uncomfortable in the heat. New York isn’t going to be much cooler.
If these two meet in the US Open final, Sinner’s probably hoping for some cooler weather. He’s already pulled out of the mixed doubles to focus on singles preparation. He’s working with fitness coach Umberto Ferrara – the same guy he controversially brought back to his team – to get ready for Flushing Meadows.
The defending champion will need to be at his best if he wants to keep Alcaraz from adding another US Open trophy to his collection.
