Carlos Alcaraz will contest his second Wimbledon Championships final, and his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, found it remarkable how fast he 'flipped the switch.'
The Spanish coach has been there for all of his protege's matches at Wimbledon, and it's been a bumpy ride. The 21-year-old wasn't cruising through his matches as easily as last year.
In a lot of the matches this year, Alcaraz dropped a set but he was still able to find the necessary level and win every match that he played. The reward for that is having a chance to win his second Wimbledon trophy and fourth Grand Slam trophy overall.
That makes his coach very happy, as he told the media ahead of the final practice session they held before the final match. It was fantastic to see how he was able to turn around some of the matches.
Even when he looked in major trouble against Frances Tiafoe, the Spaniard simply, literally, just pressed a button and started playing much better. It's very similar to what he did at Roland Garros because he did the same against Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev, and after his triumph at French Open, he was able to flip yet another switch, and re-focus on the grass-court part of the season.
"We’re very happy. I think Carlos’ performances have improved throughout the tournament. His confidence, above all, has kept building until reaching the final. But what he’s doing, having won the title at Roland Garros, flipping the switch to prepare in this way and reach the final, is scandalous."
"The level Carlos is producing, above all mentally, handling the pressure everyone puts on him without meaning to... it really is a 10 out of 10 for him."
Challenged by the opponents or not, Alcaraz keeps winning, and he will try to do the same in the final match against Novak Djokovic.