Lindsay Davenport recently expressed that by reaching the final of the 2026 Australian Open, Carlos Alcaraz has dispelled all doubts and concerns regarding how he would perform without coach Juan Carlos Ferrero present in his box during his matches.
In Dec. 2025, Alcaraz announced the end of his seven-year professional relationship with Ferrero. The two Spaniards had worked together from 2019 to 2025, during which time Alcaraz won 24 ATP Tour singles titles, including 8 ATP Masters 1000 titles and 6 Grand Slam titles.
Lindsay Davenport Says Carlos Alcaraz Has Silenced Doubts About How He Would Fare in Juan Carlos Ferrero’s Absence
Alcaraz is currently in Melbourne, competing in the 2026 Australian Open. He is the top seed, and he secured his place in the final by defeating the likes of Adam Walton, Yannick Hanfmann, Corentin Moutet, Tommy Paul, Alex de Minaur, and Alexander Zverev.
Recently, while speaking on Tennis Channel, Davenport shared her thoughts on Alcaraz overcoming challenges during his semifinal match against Zverev, which led him to advance to his first Melbourne Major final.
Davenport mentioned that before starting his campaign at the Grand Slam tournament, there were concerns about how Alcaraz would perform without Ferrero to guide him. However, the World No. 1 dispelled all doubts with his brilliant performance.
The American commended the World No. 1 for handling Ferrero’s absence well and praised Alcaraz’s current coach, Samuel López, for doing an “amazing” job guiding him throughout the tournament.
“We had questions about how Alcaraz would play a really big match without Juan Carlos Ferrero in his camp because he was always in his ear in these matches and some of the biggest matches, trying to talk him through. He handled the situation so well. His coach, Samuel López, did an amazing job talking him through it,” Davenport said.
The three-time Grand Slam champion highlighted how López helped Alcaraz “relax” during tense moments in the semifinal match.
“There was one point in the third set where he was just telling Carlos, ‘Relax! You still have time. You still have time,’ because you felt the urgency, like maybe Carlos needed to win it in three sets, and as you said, he just stayed really relaxed,” she continued.
In addition to praising López, Davenport also acknowledged the rest of Alcaraz’s team, who helped him when he was cramping and facing physical challenges during the match, guiding him to victory in the semifinals against Zverev.
“Then there was the point in the match where Alcaraz was throwing up. He was obviously cramping. He was going through heatstroke, and he came over to his camp and said, ‘This is so hard, I’m not feeling it.’ And his coach said, ‘Carlos, if it were easy, I’d be out there.’ And just did an amazing job, his whole team was trying to talk him through a really tough situation out there. I mean, both players ended up struggling in these conditions, but this was crunch time for Alcaraz, and credit to his camp for helping him get over the finish line,” Davenport added.
Looking ahead, Alcaraz will face Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2026 Australian Open. The two players have met nine times on the ATP Tour, with the Serb winning five of those encounters. Their most recent matchup took place in the semifinals of the 2025 US Open, in which Alcaraz emerged victorious with a scoreline of 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2.
