‘Carlos Alcaraz wanted to play Stefanos Tsitsipas for long time’, reveals coach

Overcoming Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open will increase the “confidence and level” of Carlos Alcaraz going forward, believes his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Former French Open champion and world number one Ferrero explained that Alcaraz had wanted the chance to play Tsitsipas “from a long time ago”.

World number 55 Alcaraz stunned the 23-year-old Greek – the third seed – in five sets in the pair’s first meeting in the third round of the 2021 US Open on Friday.

The 18-year-old Spaniard will next face 141st-ranked German Peter Gojowczyk in the last 16 at Flushing Meadows on Sunday.

“It’s more difficult to watch as a coach because you have to stay on your seat and you cannot do anything. You can just talk and give some advice before, but it’s so much worse,” Ferrero told Eurosport.

“I think it was a very special match to live as a coach and also for Carlos – it is a very important for him to live. I think this match is going to increase his confidence and his level from now on. We will see.

“I had soft knees watching this match and a feeling this could be a special match. He wanted to play Tsitsipas from a long time ago and finally it was here and he did really well.

“I think Carlos felt very comfortable from the baseline – being aggressive all the time is his kind of game. He has a lot of speed on his forehand and he likes to go forward all the time. He is not a super-rally man. From the very beginning, he was on a plan and I think he did very well with it all match.”

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