When Carlos Alcaraz announced he was splitting with his long-term coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, the shockwaves that went through tennis would appear to have left us all a little more dazed than the icon in the centre of the storm.
For those of us who saw Alcaraz and Ferrero as a duo who shared a bond akin to a father and son relationship, the prospect of seeing the world No 1 taking to the court without his mentor was hard to imagine.
Yet the reality appears to be that the image we had of Carlitos and the former French Open champion who has been by his side as he lifted all six of his Grand Slam titles was a little misleading.
While Ferrero was hugely influential in building Alcaraz into a tennis superstar, the finished product he helped to mould is more than good enough to thrive without him.
Alcaraz is no longer a novice and as one of the world’s premier athletes, he is clearly keen to make more of his own decisions and that is where the advice and instruction from Ferrero appeared to lose some of its impact.
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The team around Alcaraz is vast and Sami Lopez appears to have a strong bond with the champion trying to join the elite list of players who have won all four Grand Slam titles by lifting his first Australian Open crown on Sunday.
We were all looking to identify any dip in focus, form or tactical acumen from Alcaraz at this year’s Australian Open, but his sensational performance against Alex de Minaur was more than enough for him to secure a 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 win that sent out a defiant message to any of his doubters.
This was a breakthrough win as it booked Alcaraz’s first appearance in an Australian Open semi-final, where he will play Alexander Zverev on Friday and he heads into that match in buoyant mood.
Alcaraz looks stronger, faster and more relaxed than at any point in his career, with the perception that his camp was in turmoil after Ferrero’s exit already banished.
“Alcaraz at his best,” declared former British No 1 Tim Henman on TNT Sports.
“He’s just got so many different options. His backhand impressed me so much tonight that he was flattening out and taking it on, flying just over the net cord, taking it wide from De Minaur.
“Once Alcaraz got that first set under his belt, you just felt like there was a shift of gears. He had another gear to go to, and he was so aggressive, so dominant in every aspect. Yeah, 6-2-6-1 was one-way traffic.”
De Minaur played well for the first set of his latest match against Alcaraz, but Henman was right to suggest that once the back of the match was broken by the Spaniard as he took the first set, he had the freedom to move through the gears and blow his Aussie opponent away.
It was telling that Alcaraz reserved special words for his father in his post-match interview, as he thanked him for all his support and suggested he was proud to be living out the dreams he dreamed up for his son.
“Having my brother and my dad here, part of my family, my uncle as well, it’s been great so far, and I’m just really proud,” said Alcaraz in his on-court speech.
“I’m really happy to see my dad because, you know, these things we experience and living these kinds of things, it was his dream when he was playing tennis. I’m just really proud to see him making his dream with me.”
Those words were telling, with the perception that Ferrero was Alcaraz’s father figure in tennis already close to being banished.
The contribution Ferrero made to Alcaraz’s career will never be forgotten, but it is clear that Alcaraz is now his own man and he is loving every second of him first tournament without his one-time mentor.
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