Ferrero Focused On Zverev’s Long-Term Growth

Alexander Zverev’s 2017 season was the definition of an eruption. The 20-year-old talent went from a very respectable 24th in the ATP Rankings at the start of the year to fourth at the end of it, finishing behind only Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov.

Coach Juan Carlos Ferrero knows what it takes to expand on that, to get to the top, and to win a Grand Slam. The 2003 Roland Garros champion and former World No.1 is keen on keeping Zverev on track and not skipping steps in the young player’s growth process.

“Sascha’s goal is to keep growing and, in order to grow, [he] needs to keep playing matches and experiencing things — both good and bad,” Ferrero said. “In Spain, we say you go ‘from day to day and match by match.’ The immediate focus is on the next match; after that, it’s [to win] the tournament.”

When it came to winning both matches and tournaments, Zverev didn’t miss out on many opportunities in 2017: The German triumphed in Montpellier, Munich, Washington, D.C., the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Rome and the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Montreal.

Despite those accomplishments, Zverev is eager for more — specifically, better performances at Grand Slam events. His best result to date at a major event was a fourth-round loss to Milos Raonic at Wimbledon in 2017.

“I think improving on the Grand Slam performances is one thing [to work on],” Zverev said. “The furthest I got was to the fourth round of Wimbledon. A lot of times it wasn’t because I played badly, but because I played very good opponents; I lost to [Rafael] Nadal. I lost to Milos Raonic at Wimbledon. Both times in five sets. That’s nothing to worry about too much. But obviously that’s one goal for me this year.”

Not reaching a goal is never easy to digest. That’s where Ferrero has stepped in. Where Zverev might look at the negatives in a loss, Ferrero, aware of Zverev’s standard for excellence, redirects his pupil’s attention to the positives. The Nitto ATP Finals was a particular case.

“It was his first time playing in London. The objective was to get to the semi-finals but after the match against Federer, Zverev was listed as the favorite over [Jack] Sock,” Ferrero said. “Being the favorite just doesn’t benefit you. That was an intense match and you could tell Zverev wasn’t experienced in handling those situations.

“Sascha is a perfectionist; he likes to train a lot, he’s very professional in everything he does, which makes losing that much harder to swallow. No one likes losing. He’s bothered by defeat but that also makes him think, it makes him grow and makes him understand the importance of having a team around him, with a lot of experience.”

If not knowing how to lose is Zverev’s biggest issue, then Ferrero is ready to fix that.

“That’s something normal because he’s only 20 years old and not knowing how to lose won’t hurt him in the long run,” Ferrero said. “In difficult matches, you have to adjust and learn how to play as though it’s a training match and handle the tension that way.”

The pressure that comes with competing in the spotlight and under high expectations are also matters that Ferrero is equipped to deal with.

“Being in constant focus at this age isn’t easy,” Ferrero said. “It’s a day-to-day burden because now, in every tournament and in the Grand Slams, it becomes a matter of ‘let’s see if he wins.’ That’s not easy to cope with. As a team, we try to create a bubble around him, so these things don’t affect him as much.

As for Saturday at the Australian Open, Ferrero expects a tough outing against inaugural #NextGenATP champion Hyeon Chung. The Korean holds a FedEx ATP Head2Head advantage over Zverev, 1-0. Ferrero knows the contest will be a tricky one for his charge.

“Chung is a difficult player to defeat,” Ferrero said. He’s a very rubbery player who plays a level game and it makes things uncomfortable. Still, we have a good feeling about this.

“The early rounds of a Grand Slam are never easy, but Sascha will benefit most from reaching the third or fourth round. His match tomorrow is hard and if he wins, he’ll have to play Albert [Ramos] or [Novak] Djokovic. But [Zverev] learns from these situations. Let’s see how it goes.”