Carlos Alcaraz has arrived in Melbourne for the Australian Open, the only Grand Slam he has yet to win.
Alcaraz is a six-time Grand Slam champion, twice winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
But he has never made it beyond the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, a tournament his ATP rival Jannik Sinner has won in each of the last two seasons.
Alcaraz will be without Juan Carlos Ferrero for the event and indeed for the future, having parted ways with his long-term coach.
Who would you like to see coach Carlos Alcaraz next?
Carlos Alcaraz ‘fired up’ for Australian Open after Juan Carlos Ferrero split
Former player Alex Corretja has now shared his take on that situation as the Australian Open rapidly approaches.
He told TNT Sports: “I’m expecting a good Carlitos. I heard he’s fired up, he’s pumped, he’s ready, he’s been working so hard.
“And of course, it’s going to be weird not having Juanki (Ferrero) next to him in the box. But unfortunately, we need to get used to that.
“The good thing for him is he’s been travelling with Samo (Samuel Lopez) already in the past, and the whole team is there as well.
“But I think he’s going to be ready. It has to remain in the past because this is what it is. He needs to move on.”
Carlos Alcaraz told to prepare for Juan Carlos Ferrero questions
Alcaraz will undoubtedly be missing Ferrero’s presence in the early stages, having worked with his compatriot for seven years.
It is a topic that Corretja is expecting the ATP number one to be questioned about during his latest visit to Melbourne.
He said: “I think Carlitos, he’s someone that he’s always very clever on his answers, and he had the time to think about exactly what he wants to say during this Christmas time and this beginning of the year.
“So I think it was good for him just to maybe look down a little bit and he wasn’t a little bit too much in the public eye in the last weeks in order not to talk about the situation. And now in Melbourne, he will need to face it.
“He will need to understand that this is pretty much normal, that it was a big shock for everybody in the tennis world. But after that, he will just need to play his game and focus on every single opponent.”
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Alcaraz has already played without his former long-standing coach by his side, recently taking on Sinner in an exhibition in South Korea.
But the first Grand Slam of the season will provide a different test entirely, with Alcaraz certain to be desperate for Australian Open success.
The Spaniard lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals last year, with Alexander Zverev beating him at that stage in 2024.
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