It took three separate calls to persuade former top 10 player David Ferrer to join the team of world No.7 Alexander Zverev.
Just a year after ending his professional career, the Spaniard finds himself back on the Tour in a new capacity in what is his first top-level coaching job. After travelling to Monte Carlo for a trial period, it was confirmed that Ferrer will be on Zverev’s team for at least the rest of 2020. Although getting him to join in the first place was a tough task.
“There were other proposals, but Zverev called me three times to ask if I could be his coach,” Ferrer said during an interview with Punto de Break. “The first two I told him that I couldn’t, that I had other things in mind, but during confinement (lockdown) he called me a third time. I liked that, that he was the one who contacted me, he encouraged me to try.”
Both men are fairly familiar with each other after facing off nine times on the ATP Tour, including three in 2019. Zverev was the last player Ferrer played against at the Madrid Open before officially retiring from the sport at the age of 37. Following that match the German described his new coach as ‘one of the most loved people on the Tour.’
Ferrer isn’t the only person guiding the 23-year-old on the Tour. He is also mentored by his father who is a former player himself and won two gold medals at the 1985 summer Universiade. Under the new arrangement, Ferrer outlines the area that he is solely responsible for at present.
”I am the one who designs all the exercises. When I am not present, I contact his father and tell him about everything I want to do,” he explains.
“In this sense, Sascha is learning a lot from me and his father also really likes the pattern that I wanted to bet on.’
“I don’t know if I’m the head coach or not, to this day I don’t care, I don’t have egos for that. What I can tell you is that I do the exercises.”
In recent years Zverev has been one of the players tipped to take over the reign of the Big Three in the future. His resume currently features 11 ATP titles that include three at Masters level and one in the ATP Finals. He first broke into the world’s top three back in 2017 when he became the youngest player to do so for a decade (Novak Djokovic 2007).
Although it hasn’t all been smooth running for the German who has only won one ATP tournament over the past 18 months. Doing so at the 2019 Geneva Open on clay. Although in January he achieved his best Grand Slam result so far with a run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
“I think he has a lot of room for improvement mentally and tennis too,” Ferrer commented. “Maybe in playing more forward, or certain technical aspects that he can polish.’
“We are talking about a player who is already very good, but by improving certain tennis and mental aspects he can win Grand Slams and be very high. You always need to evolve and improve in your game, this is what motivates me the most, that even knowing everything that has already won, we know that it can still be better. I believe it 100%.”
Zverev experienced a short lived return to competitive tennis this week at the Western and Southern Open in New York. Seeded fifth in the tournament, he crashed out in his opening match to Andy Murray. Zverev served for the win at 5-4 in the decisive set but then got broken twice in a row.
“The truth is that Murray played at a great level in the first set, it surprised me,” Ferrer commented on the match.
“Then at 5-4 and service (for the match) came that moment where the tension prevented him from closing and cost him the game. It’s the first game so I can’t make an assessment yet. His attitude was good, I’m not worried.”
The next test will be at the US Open where Ferrer says he expects to see ‘more surprises’ in the early rounds than normal following the Tour break. Once again Novak Djokovic will be the favourite to win the title as Zverev chases after his maiden major trophy. Although his new coach explains that it is an ongoing process that shouldn’t be rushed.
“We know that the higher you are, the more pressure you have, especially if you are young and have already won important things, people will always ask you to take the next leap,” he said.
“What the team has to achieve is that the player is as calm as possible and goes step by step.’
“We just started, I don’t want to venture out and talk too much either. What worries me now is that he improves mentally and tennis, that will be what leads him to have options to win important titles, whether they are Grand Slams, Masters 1000 or whatever.”
Zverev will play Kevin Anderson in his first round match at Flushing Meadows.
