By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, August 11, 2023
Carlos Alcaraz credits family ties for his singles success.
World No. 1 Alcaraz held off Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(3) in Toronto to score his 14th consecutive victory.
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The Wimbledon champion's success is rooted in family. Alcaraz's father, also named Carlos, began teaching him tennis when he was four.
Alcaraz credits his "second father", former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, for helping him achieve his major dreams.
"Everything that I have done is thanks to him," Alcaraz said of Ferrero. "I learned a lot from him not only in the professional part, even the personal part as well. He's my second father, so he is really important person for me.
"Everything that I've came through at the beginning, he was experienced in that moment, you know, and I learned about how to deal in a lot of tough moments, you know, and first things about everything."
Ferrero, who celebrated the 20th anniversary of his 2003 Roland Garros final sweep of Martin Verkerk in June, says Alcaraz's mental maturity is the main reason he's playing his best tennis this season.
"As a person, I would say he's more mature. He's 20 now, and of course also when you are on a team that people are older, I think you grow up a little bit faster than maybe with other people that are the same age as you," Ferrero said. "As a player, I think he grows up like super fast on the court.
"He can, let's say, read the matches a little bit better. Even before the match, like talking about the match, you can see that he's more mature on all kind of areas on the court.
"I would say he's better than last year. I think he has more experience. The experience that he's won US Open and, you know, live the experience on the court that he did I think makes him grow faster than maybe other people, so definitely he's a better player."
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open Facebook