It is not the result that Carlos Alcaraz was looking for. One of the favorites to lift the Australian Open, the Spaniard’s January journey was cut short by Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals. The German star overcame the challenge of Alcaraz in a match lasting just over three hours, requiring 4 sets to defeat his Spanish opponent 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-4. However, was one major factor affecting Alcaraz in the match in the form of his missing teammate?

The former World Number 1 is without his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, at the Australian Open. Although Samuel Lopez has replaced him, the absence of the regular coach seems to have haunted him. Here’s what he said about Ferrero’s absence.

Carlos Alcaraz trusts his new coach 100%

The decision about Juan Carlos Ferrero’s absence was made last year. The Spanish coach is currently recovering from an arthroscopy on his left knee. As a result, he is walking on crutches and it wasn’t possible for him to travel in this condition to Australia. Hence, he decided to skip this tournament to recover completely before he could join Alcaraz.

During the post-match press conference after his Australian Open exit, Alcaraz was asked if the absence of his regular coach had an impact on his performance Down Under. Replying to this question, he said, “No, it didn’t affect at all. As I said, I was playing great tennis, you know, without him. I had someone that is a pretty good coach as well. I trust him 100%, as I said before the tournament began. It didn’t affect me at all.”

In Ferrero’s absence, Alcaraz had a familiar coach replacing him. Samuel Lopez took Ferrero’s place at the first Grand Slam of the season. Alcaraz and Lopez worked together last year during Ferrero’s absence and they won the Queen’s Club title. Further, despite Alcaraz downplaying the effect of Ferrero’s absence after his defeat this time, he once revealed how difficult it was going to be without him.

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When Alcaraz admitted to challenging times without Ferrero

Before the start of the tournament, Carlos Alcaraz’s coaching team was a much-talked-about subject in the tennis world. Additionally, when asked to comment about Ferrero’s absence, he said, “Well, it’s tough not being with him. Obviously he travel almost 100% of the tournaments. Probably he miss just one or two last year. It’s going to be difficult to approach a big tournament without him.”

Ferrero is expected to be back in March at Indian Wells. Till then, Alcaraz will have to find a way out after his heartbreaking defeat Down Under. Do you think he can make a strong comeback the rest of the season? Let us know your views in the comments below.

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