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Carlos Alcaraz sent his wishes across to coach Juan Carlos Ferrero on his 44th birthday. The former also revisited the duo's emotional embrace following his win in the final of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
At his peak, Ferrero reached World No. 1 in the ATP Tour rankings as a player. The Spaniard won the 2003 French Open and reached the final of the 2003 US Open. He won a combined 16 ATP Tour titles, including four Masters.
After retiring, Ferrero seamlessly transitioned to a coaching role, with Alexander Zverev being his first high-profile pupil. After Zverev, he started working with Alcaraz, and their collaboration has seen the 20-year-old establish himself as one of the leading players in men's tennis.
Under Ferrero's guidance, Alcaraz has won two Grand Slam titles; the 2022 US Open and the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
As Ferrero turned 44, Alcaraz sent his birthday wishes via an Instagram story. The Spaniard's post also featured a picture of him embracing a teary-eyed Ferrero after the former defeated Novak Djokovic to win his maiden Wimbledon Championships title.
"Happy birthday Juan Carlos Ferrero," Alcaraz wrote in an Instagram post.
Alcaraz got off to a disastrous start against Djokovic in that final, losing the first set 1-6. The Spaniard roared back into the contest as he won the next two sets 7-6(6), 6-1. Djokovic held his own in the fourth to win it 6-3. However, Alcaraz got the better of the Serb in the decider (6-4) and was crowned the new champion at Wimbledon.
Juan Carlos Ferrero did not feature in Carlos Alcaraz's 2024 Australian Open campaign
Carlos Alcaraz went into the 2024 Australian Open without Juan Carlos Ferrero. In December, Ferrero underwent a left knee arthroscopy, which left him on crutches and unable to travel with Alcaraz's entourage.
In Ferrero's absence, Samuel Lopez took charge and was the leading voice in Alcaraz's camp. The reigning Wimbledon champion breezed into the quarterfinals after convincingly beating Richard Gasquet, Lorenzo Sonego, Shang Juncheng, and Miomir Kecmanovic. However, in the quarterfinals, he looked uncharacteristically out of sorts against Ferrero's former pupil Alexander Zverev. He lost 1-6, 3-6, 7-6(2), 4-6 to the German.
Shortly after the conclusion of the Australian Open, Ferrero returned to train Alcaraz following a swift recovery from his left knee arthroscopy. The 20-year-old is slated to feature at the Argentina Open next, where he will directly play in the Round of 16. Alcaraz heads into the ATP 250 clay court event as the top seed and the defending champion, having defeated Cameron Norrie to clinch the title in 2023.
