Ferrero: ‘We Have To Try To Get Carlos To Play Relaxed’

What will Carlos Alcaraz do to relax the day before playing in the Wimbledon final? Juan Carlos Ferrero, the coach of the No. 1 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is in no doubt.

“Little more than we have been doing, there’s no need to create a new routine,” Ferrero said. “Today will be a relaxed day: a little bit of gym, be fresh for tomorrow and try to keep him away from the phone, from anything from the outside. That’s our job. I don’t know if we’ll achieve it because it’s a losing battle, but I advised him yesterday to try and stay away from anything that is said about the final. And, of course, to try and enjoy playing and to fight to the death for the match.”

On Sunday, Alcaraz will take on Novak Djokovic for the Wimbledon title in the second Grand Slam final of his career. Although he won his first, almost a year ago at the US Open (where he defeated Casper Ruud), this time the challenge is even greater: the Serbian has won seven of the last eight finals he has played at the All England Club, where he is currently on a 34-match winning streak.

“If we make the giant even bigger it is impossible to beat him,” Ferrero said. “We’re going to take it to him and forget the stats. He’s a player, with two arms and two legs like us. We have to be at 100 per cent to put on a good match, forgetting about history and the numbers. If we take that baggage with us, it [will be] extremely difficult. Carlos has beaten him once and then there was Paris. He has had both experiences. We hope that the third will be better than the previous two.”

When Ferrero mentions Paris, he is referring to the semi-final between the Spaniard and Serbian one month ago at Roland Garros, where Alcaraz was unable to compete in the third and fourth sets due to severe cramps caused by nerves. Ferrero summed up in one word how the Murcia native should respond to that episode: learn.

“In the end, when you play more times against someone, you learn to handle the rhythm,” Ferrero said. “The situation is similar. Maybe here Djokovic is the favourite and that could benefit Carlos. What we have to do is to get him to play relaxed and fluid. Nobody goes out into a Wimbledon final feeling relaxed from the start, above all because of the difficulties the opponent will create for us.”

Ferrero added: “We have to concentrate more on Carlos, on the problems Djokovic might create for him. We know the level Nole will produce is extremely high. It will kind of depend on Alcaraz’s level.

“The performance he produced against Medvedev was very interesting with a view to Sunday. The opponent is different and the situation is too. In Paris we also had the feeling that he was playing very well and in the end things took a turn for the worse.”

Ferrero also spoke about what else he can do to help Alcaraz before a match of this magnitude, and the future of the 20-year-old on grass, a surface on which he took the title at Queen’s Club this year and where he is now in the Wimbledon final.

“I talk to him more about situations that he may find himself in on court. What he might feel when he walks out for a final or when he might feel the most pressure,” Ferrero said. “I really like to think about the present. Like when people ask me how many majors he’ll win, he has the opportunity to win many. But talking about how many is a mistake. If his body is physically up to it, he has the chance to do great things at this tournament.”