"With Carlos, we are looking for a player who is a perfect 10 in every aspect"

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• "Carlitos, what about Australia?"

• "I’m really looking forward to it"

These are just two sentences, the beginning of a conversation that perfectly sums up the motivation felt by Carlos Alcaraz to start the 2025 season. The conversation takes place at the Ferrero Tennis Academy, where Punto de Break once again attends to witness how the best Spanish tennis player of the moment works. Alongside Carlos, his two coaches lead the preseason of a team working towards achieving the greatest, dreaming of everything. The interview with Samuel López –his new assistant coach– you could read a few days ago, but we still had one last gift to bring you.

As fit as ever and with a shorter haircut than usual, Juan Carlos Ferrero (Onteniente, 1980) greets us with his characteristic simplicity, showing that he remains a No. 1 both on and off the court. The impression is one of calmness, of being excited about these last few weeks, and very satisfied with what he experienced this ending season, despite the huge gap that Jannik Sinner opened up with his pursuers. "We won't invite him here anymore," Juanki jokes in confidence. Before heading to Australia, a brief chat to anticipate this upcoming adventure.

How is the preseason going?

Good, good. Carlos came with a lot of enthusiasm, the break did him great, and the two exhibitions got him a bit on track to get here. The first week focused on adaptation physical conditioning, along with tests with Babolat and Nike for shoes. The second week was more about volume, spending three hours on the court and facing more intense training sessions. Next week, we will start to focus more on specifics.

Any new developments compared to previous preseasons?

The difference is that we have less time. Finishing so late, that's what it is, the schedule is very tight. We would love to have a bit more time to better organize the breaks, to arrive fresher for certain events, but since we can't change it... we adapt.

Are you working on any specific aspect?

We are trying to tweak a bit on the serve, to give it more rhythm, make it smoother and more relaxed. Then, we will fine-tune small details, like the forehand, we want it to be more killer at certain moments. We need to enhance his DNA and work on his weaknesses.

What is your assessment of 2024?

The year you win a Grand Slam is always a fantastic year. If you've won two... well, that's impressive. Winning a Masters 1000 like Indian Wells or an ATP 500 like Beijing further enhances the season, but of course, you have the other beast (Sinner) who has won everything.

Some may think it hasn't been such a good year.

We think quite the opposite: it has been a spectacular year. Winning a Grand Slam is very, very challenging, so winning two makes for a magnificent season, although there are always areas to improve, like off-court matters or certain training aspects. Carlos is very aware of what he needs to improve each year; I see him getting more mature every day in being a professional and approaching things with more thought. I like how he is tackling the preseason; I see him very focused on what he wants to improve or what didn’t go so well this year.

Basically, we hope every year is like this one.

Yes, but improving those things I mentioned. Those ups and downs in matches, for example, he knows he needs to improve them because it's more mental than tennis-related. He has a very high level in tennis, and once he matures a bit in the commitment to mental improvement, I believe he will step up a notch. Each season, we aim to see improvement in that aspect, so we'll see how he does in 2025.

People demand consistency from him.

We seek continuous evolution. What does this mean? We aim for a player who is a '10' in practically everything. Carlos has very high numbers in some aspects and lower ones in others. We need to enhance his strengths and improve his weaknesses. Obviously, those fluctuations he experiences on the court are one of his weaknesses, but often it has to do with how fresh or motivated you are, so we want to make sure he arrives motivated at every tournament, bringing his best tennis each week.

Samuel López joins the team as the second coach, does this mark a turning point in 2025?

Exactly, this year will be a bit different from the previous ones, the two of us will be accompanying Carlos to tournaments. I will be at all four Grand Slams, that's for sure, although Samu will also be with us at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. From there, we will see on each tour how we distribute.

Why did you decide it was time to add a new voice?

When you have been in the game for so many years, involving someone with Samuel's experience in the team is beneficial for everyone. I believe he will help us, and it will be useful for Carlos to hear things from another perspective while still working along the same line. It will be positive for him; when you are with a person all year round, there is always the risk of getting a bit tired of that person, hence a change of scenery is often positive.

And, in the process, free up some weeks for yourself. Is it true that your initial plan was to be with Carlos for 10 years?

One has a family and a commitment to spend time with them, adding someone to the team is also a way to prolong a coach's career. As of today, I don’t set any deadline... I mean, I don’t start thinking that it's my seventh year and I only have three left. When I said that, it was simply a symbolic number; ten years is a lot of years, but right now, I don't have an expiration date. We are calm, working each day as best as possible.

I see you're ready for seven more seasons.

I'm ready to start this season (laughs).

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, “Con Carlos buscamos un jugador que sea un 10 en todo”