MELBOURNE – Carlos Alcaraz reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time in his career, and he did so in his first tournament without Juan Carlos Ferrero as his coach. A success, says the Spaniard.
‘I’m in the semi-finals, very happy about that, but the truth is it’s not a relief or that it’s taken the pressure off me, because throughout the tournament I’ve been playing for myself, for my family and for my team and not for what people will say,’ replied the Spaniard at a press conference in Melbourne after defeating Australia’s Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-2, 6-1.
A phrase of complete confidence on the very day that Ferrero’s statements about the most successful player-coach relationship of this decade were made public.
‘It’s difficult when you see him compete and you see the whole team there in the chair, visually it’s not easy what you feel,’ confessed the now mental coach of Spanish golfer Ángel Ayora.
Although Alcaraz’s statement was not directed at Ferrero personally, it does fall within the scope of the questions the US Open champion received for not adding a top name after his split with the former world number one at the end of last year.
‘We have learned to try not to listen, to try to follow the path we believe is right and, above all, to believe in what we do. That’s what we’ve done well. Even if we had lost in the first or second round, we were very clear about our goal and the path we want to follow. It wouldn’t have been a failure, but another learning experience,’ he said.
The Murcia native reached the Australian Open semi-finals for the first time in his career, coming within two matches of becoming the youngest player to win all four Grand Slams. His next opponent will be Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who eliminated him in the quarter-finals of the 2024 edition.
‘He has been playing at an incredible level, so it will be a great battle. He is serving very well, playing very solidly and aggressively. I’m sure I’ll be ready. I’m excited to play in the Australian Open semi-finals against him. I know what I have to do and if he wants to beat me, he’ll have to work hard,’ said the silver medallist in Paris 2024.
At the moment, the two-time Roland Garros champion is the favourite for the match against the German. He has not lost a set so far in the tournament and, if you add the matches from the 2025 US Open, he has 12 consecutive Grand Slam victories, conceding just one set: in the final in New York against Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz is not looking at the numbers, shielding himself with his team in a turbulent Melbourne, where he has had to publicly defend his coach, Samuel López, and defend his brother Álvaro’s role in his box in front of the cameras.
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