Carlos Alcaraz is gearing up for arguably the biggest final of his life later today, as he faces Novak Djokovic for the Australian Open title.
After nearly two weeks devoid of entertainment and drama, the tournament has massively overdelivered on the last two days.
This showpiece men’s final promises to continue that trend, pitting two of the sport’s most celebrated individuals against one another, with history on the line.
In the run-up to this event, John McEnroe has been speaking about Carlos Alcaraz.
However, his discussion has focused on his potential interest in ever coaching the 22-year-old, rather than his predictions for the final.
John McEnroe discusses coaching Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
When Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero split last month, the tennis world was stunned. Nobody expected that outcome after the year they had just enjoyed.
And yet, the youngster has seemingly bounced back from such disappointment with alarming ease, cruising into his first-ever Australian Open final, and now just one away from creating history.
Who will win the Australian Open men’s singles final?
Alcaraz’s desperation to complete the career Grand Slam has been well-documented, and it feels like a matter of when rather than if. Alas, he will want to do it today, which would make him the youngest player in tennis history to accomplish that feat.
Asked about whether he would have any interest in potentially replacing Ferrero in the future as a coach for the Spaniard, McEnroe gave his honest answer.
Comparing Alcaraz to Sinner, he told El País: “Those who have heard me comment on the games know that Alcaraz is probably my favourite player; it’s crazy what he is capable of doing on a tennis court, and he’s not even a particularly tall player; maybe he’s half a centimetre taller than me.
“Honestly, I would enjoy [working] with either of them; all I would do would be to pat them on the back and wish them luck before they jumped on the track. I don’t know how far I would really have anything to tell them.”
Carlos Alcaraz seemingly doesn’t need a new coach
Even if Alcaraz were to lose today’s Australian Open final to Djokovic, thus gifting him his coveted record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title, he has proven his ability to perform without Ferrero by his side.
Although, there shouldn’t have been any doubts about whether that would be the case anyway, given his generational talent and drive for success.
How would you feel if Juan Carlos Ferrero returned to coach Carlos Alcaraz now?
McEnroe and Alcaraz would make an amusing partnership, but Samu Lopez seems to have taken over coaching responsibilities with minimal fuss.
Clearly, he does not need anyone to outwardly replace Ferrero, and he’ll hope to reinforce that notion later today by beating Djokovic in the final.
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