Ferrero, highly critical of Zverev and the new generation

Otacon

Hall of Fame

Their collaboration was short-lived. Barely eight months after the start of their adventure, Juan Carlos Ferrero was fired by Alexander Zverev at the end of the 2018 Australian Open. The German would talk a little later about an argument that went wrong and the disrespectful attitude of the former world number 1 towards the members of [his] team . Two years later, Ferrero opened the memory box for the 3iGuales podcast. The portrait of the world N°7 by his former coach is rather unflattering.

"He had a lot of ups and downs in his matches and I think that's why he couldn't win a grand slam yet," said Ferrero. This inconsistency led him to play five-setters. [...] In training, he spent, for example, three hours on the court, but he did not do quality training more than an hour and a half. There were protests, stops, anger and distractions. At the time, we came into conflict because of his lack of punctuality and his lack of respect for the members of the team, even if his father helped me a lot. "

Beyond the example Zverev, the Spaniard (40 years old) criticized the players of the young generation. "Earning a lot of money when you are young can make you dizzy," he said of the players expected to take over. At this time, the player's environment and its role are key factors. "They have too many distractions off the court. I watch them having fun on Instagram and not thinking about tennis like we did back then. "

According to him, this is why the young guns are hitting a brick wall when it comes to the Big 3. “To defeat Federer, Nadal or Djokovic, Zverev and the others must improve outside the court: from dietetics to physical preparation. "






Discuss.
 

ForehandCross

G.O.A.T.
Another "unbiased" and "saintly" expert speaking the absolute truth which cannot be disputed by "armchair TTW experts".




But seriously, why did Ferrero even put up with Zverev? He should join Medvedev and Dominic's team whenever he gets the opportunity.
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
I would say Zverev will likely, eventually win as many majors as Ferrero (1)
The difference is that Ferreo thought as a teen he'd be lucky to win one major. Zverev is knowing he will win 25. There's a big difference in egos and attitudes between the two.

Here's a more detailed version of what JFC said about Zverev:

Alexander Zverev savaged by tennis great Juan Carlos Ferrero in brutal spray

German star Alexander Zverev was touted as the player who would dismantle the “Big Three”, but a former tennis great believes Instagram is proving a major distraction.

Former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero has reopened old wounds, lashing German tennis ace Alexander Zverev for his inability to break the grand slam domination of the sport’s big three.

Ferrero worked with Zverev for eight months in 2017 and 2018 before the pair split in acrimonious fashion following a bust-up at the Australian Open. At the time, Zverev – then 19-year-old and the game’s hottest young talent – accused Ferrero of being disrespectful towards members of his team including his father and coach Alexander Snr.

“That’s why I had to stop that relationship,” Zverev said.

While believing Zverev would one day get there, Ferrero has previously claimed the German lacked the necessary discipline to break through sooner at grand slam level.

But, in a savage (@Hitman) attack, the Spaniard has now blamed the 22-year-old’s work ethic as well as the younger generation’s obsession with social media over hard work.

“In order to overcome Federer, Nadal or Djokovic, Zverev and the rest of the guys who come after them must improve off the court: from food to fitness,” Ferrero said on the 3iGuales podcast.

“I trained Zverev for eight months and I noticed that. He used to go back and forth a lot in the same match and that’s why I think he couldn’t win a grand slam yet. That irregularity leads him to play the fifth set heads or tails.”

Long earmarked as the most likely young star to knock Federer, Nadal and Djokovic from their grand slam perch, Zverev has slipped from third to seventh in the rankings.

But he did reach his maiden grand slam semi-final, on his 19th attempt in Melbourne in January, after just two previous quarter-final showings – both at the French Open on clay.

“Earning a lot of money when you are young can get you dizzy. At that time, the player’s environment and their role are key factors,” said Ferrero, a three-time grand slam finalist and 2003 Roland Garros champion.

“They have too many distractions off the court – phone calls, social networks, friends who suddenly appear.

“I watch them fooling around on Instagram and not thinking about tennis as it was in our time.

“Zverev was, for example, three hours on the court, but he could not perform quality training for an hour and a half. There were protests. Stops. Anger. Distractions.

“At the time, we collided due to his lack of punctuality and lack of respect for the team members, even though his father helped me a lot.”
 

ForehandCross

G.O.A.T.
The difference is that Ferreo thought as a teen he'd be lucky to win one major. Zverev is knowing he will win 25. There's a big difference in egos and attitudes between the two.

Here's a more detailed version of what JFC said about Zverev:

Alexander Zverev savaged by tennis great Juan Carlos Ferrero in brutal spray

German star Alexander Zverev was touted as the player who would dismantle the “Big Three”, but a former tennis great believes Instagram is proving a major distraction.

Former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero has reopened old wounds, lashing German tennis ace Alexander Zverev for his inability to break the grand slam domination of the sport’s big three.

Ferrero worked with Zverev for eight months in 2017 and 2018 before the pair split in acrimonious fashion following a bust-up at the Australian Open. At the time, Zverev – then 19-year-old and the game’s hottest young talent – accused Ferrero of being disrespectful towards members of his team including his father and coach Alexander Snr.

“That’s why I had to stop that relationship,” Zverev said.

While believing Zverev would one day get there, Ferrero has previously claimed the German lacked the necessary discipline to break through sooner at grand slam level.

But, in a savage (@Hitman) attack, the Spaniard has now blamed the 22-year-old’s work ethic as well as the younger generation’s obsession with social media over hard work.

“In order to overcome Federer, Nadal or Djokovic, Zverev and the rest of the guys who come after them must improve off the court: from food to fitness,” Ferrero said on the 3iGuales podcast.

“I trained Zverev for eight months and I noticed that. He used to go back and forth a lot in the same match and that’s why I think he couldn’t win a grand slam yet. That irregularity leads him to play the fifth set heads or tails.”

Long earmarked as the most likely young star to knock Federer, Nadal and Djokovic from their grand slam perch, Zverev has slipped from third to seventh in the rankings.

But he did reach his maiden grand slam semi-final, on his 19th attempt in Melbourne in January, after just two previous quarter-final showings – both at the French Open on clay.

“Earning a lot of money when you are young can get you dizzy. At that time, the player’s environment and their role are key factors,” said Ferrero, a three-time grand slam finalist and 2003 Roland Garros champion.

“They have too many distractions off the court – phone calls, social networks, friends who suddenly appear.

“I watch them fooling around on Instagram and not thinking about tennis as it was in our time.

“Zverev was, for example, three hours on the court, but he could not perform quality training for an hour and a half. There were protests. Stops. Anger. Distractions.

“At the time, we collided due to his lack of punctuality and lack of respect for the team members, even though his father helped me a lot.”

LOL. Aren't there people here who claim that higher price money means better competition ?
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Zverev: "Who the hell are these two nobodies?" :-D

tumblr_py59ws8xn71y0ft9oo1_540.gifv
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
He's not wrong. This social media era is bringing out not only the worst in sportsmen, but the worst in most people. It kind of exposes oneself for what they really are.
Truer words were never spoken. As Lendl said last summer, "these young guys are more into this social media stuff than proper training and preparation. If they had no phones, they'd go a lot farther in the game."
 

Enga

Hall of Fame
If you ask me, they don't sound compatible personality wise. There's no reason you can't browse Instagram and also win in tennis.
 

AceSalvo

Legend
Everyone has to be critical of the Next Gen competition since 2015. Its was below sub-par. They could put up only one good performance a year and then fizzle away. Pretty sure the powers that be were not concerned because the $ just kept coming in and have manipulated everything to keep it that way.

Just wait and watch once the Big 3 is gone.
 

California

Semi-Pro
If you ask me, they don't sound compatible personality wise. There's no reason you can't browse Instagram and also win in tennis.
I agree with you if they can just "browse" reality is many of the younger generations LIVE on social media and can't stop checking, watching videos, and posting every 5 minutes. They have no attention spans, and can't focus for any length of time. It is sad really.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
I think the point is, they just don't browse Instagram, they're on all social media constantly, or gaming. Murray used to play video games seven hours a day.

http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/index/_/id/4716547

"The 32-year-old said he gave up gaming while at big events a few years ago just before the most successful period in his career."

 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
Truer words were never spoken. As Lendl said last summer, "these young guys are more into this social media stuff than proper training and preparation. If they had no phones, they'd go a lot farther in the game."

I would love to hear Lendl's take on his time with Sasha just to compare notes. :cool:
 

Nadalgaenger

G.O.A.T.

Their collaboration was short-lived. Barely eight months after the start of their adventure, Juan Carlos Ferrero was fired by Alexander Zverev at the end of the 2018 Australian Open. The German would talk a little later about an argument that went wrong and the disrespectful attitude of the former world number 1 towards the members of [his] team . Two years later, Ferrero opened the memory box for the 3iGuales podcast. The portrait of the world N°7 by his former coach is rather unflattering.

"He had a lot of ups and downs in his matches and I think that's why he couldn't win a grand slam yet," said Ferrero. This inconsistency led him to play five-setters. [...] In training, he spent, for example, three hours on the court, but he did not do quality training more than an hour and a half. There were protests, stops, anger and distractions. At the time, we came into conflict because of his lack of punctuality and his lack of respect for the members of the team, even if his father helped me a lot. "

Beyond the example Zverev, the Spaniard (40 years old) criticized the players of the young generation. "Earning a lot of money when you are young can make you dizzy," he said of the players expected to take over. At this time, the player's environment and its role are key factors. "They have too many distractions off the court. I watch them having fun on Instagram and not thinking about tennis like we did back then. "

According to him, this is why the young guns are hitting a brick wall when it comes to the Big 3. “To defeat Federer, Nadal or Djokovic, Zverev and the others must improve outside the court: from dietetics to physical preparation. "






Discuss.
Sounds like Zverev was taking cues from Kyrgios rather than Ferrero.
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Zverev is in a pretty good physical shape though and he is working hard. Problem is his mind.
This is really true. But I think it's just a lack of elite talent. Nobody worked harder on their body than Murray, but Fed with a little bit of a belly still usually stomped him while working out 50% less than him. Zverev can bench press and lift weights all he wants, he lacks elite talent. McEnroe did nothing off court and said his only training was playing doubles, but his innate talent was other wordly.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
This is really true. But I think it's just a lack of elite talent. Nobody worked harder on their body than Murray, but Fed with a little bit of a belly still usually stomped him while working out 50% less than him. Zverev can bench press and lift weights all he wants, he lacks elite talent. McEnroe did nothing off court and said his only training was playing doubles, but his innate talent was other wordly.

Given that Murray is the only player outside the Big 3 to notch up double digit victories against Fed (the H2H is 14-11 to Fed) despite his "lack of elite talent" it kinda indicates that Fed didn't get to stomp Murray quite as much as some people like to suppose.
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Given that Murray is the only player outside the Big 3 to notch up double digit victories against Fed (the H2H is 14-11 to Fed) despite his "lack of elite talent" it kinda indicates that Fed didn't get to stomp Murray quite as much as some people like to suppose.
Come on, Mainad. I know you're a fanatical Andy fan, but do you honestly believe he's as talented as Fed or McEnroe? Nobody in the history of the game is. I'm not knocking Andy, he's an elite player, but not at the talent level of Federer. That's obvious to anyone, even Andy or Judy Murray would freely admit that. No sane person on the planet would ever claim Andy Murray has the talent of Roger Federer.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
Come on, Mainad. I know you're a fanatical Andy fan, but do you honestly believe he's as talented as Fed or McEnroe? Nobody in the history of the game is. I'm not knocking Andy, he's an elite player, but not at the talent level of Federer. That's obvious to anyone, even Andy or Judy Murray would freely admit that. No sane person on the planet would ever claim Andy Murray has the talent of Roger Federer.

Now come on yourself. Whether or not he is as talented as Federer you seem to be implying that he doesn't have any elite talent at all and yet, as I pointed out, he is the only player outside the Big 3 to have notched up double digit victories against Federer. How would you suppose he managed to do that without possessing any elite talent or are you going to be one of those who like to suggest he just got incredibly lucky in all those encounters?
 
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Adv. Edberg

Legend
Ferrero is completely right though. Fame, money and virtual likes are more important than winning slams for the next gen.
 

RelentlessAttack

Hall of Fame
JMac couldn’t get away with that kind of training now. Say what you will about Federer, in his prime he basically said that he spent his whole day every day on tennis (plus some shopping and watching videos of himself LOL)
 

RelentlessAttack

Hall of Fame
Ferrero is completely right though. Fame, money and virtual likes are more important than winning slams for the next gen.

its not that they’re more important, it’s that as a result of those distractions they don’t actually know what it means to work hard with singular focus, they may think they are but they’re not
 

Enga

Hall of Fame
This is really true. But I think it's just a lack of elite talent. Nobody worked harder on their body than Murray, but Fed with a little bit of a belly still usually stomped him while working out 50% less than him. Zverev can bench press and lift weights all he wants, he lacks elite talent. McEnroe did nothing off court and said his only training was playing doubles, but his innate talent was other wordly.
Federer still does a lot of preparation. I dunno about his belly, but his off season prep seems well thought out and I think I've heard he often examines his opponents playstyles in recordings, strategizing with his team.

There was a short time where he played like he thought he was a god, hitting the ball all-out all the time but before that he was meticulous and now he seems to be again.

And besides all that, a slight bit of fat on the belly is not really a sign of bad prep.
 

Wurm

Professional
There were protests

5d54d85c83b22e1edaf217db93a43124.gif


stops

5d54d85c83b22e1edaf217db93a43124.gif


anger

5d54d85c83b22e1edaf217db93a43124.gif


distractions.

5d54d85c83b22e1edaf217db93a43124.gif


At the time, we came into conflict because of his lack of punctuality and his lack of respect for the members of the team

5d54d85c83b22e1edaf217db93a43124.gif
 

megamind

Legend
There were protests

5d54d85c83b22e1edaf217db93a43124.gif


stops

5d54d85c83b22e1edaf217db93a43124.gif


anger

5d54d85c83b22e1edaf217db93a43124.gif


distractions.

5d54d85c83b22e1edaf217db93a43124.gif


At the time, we came into conflict because of his lack of punctuality and his lack of respect for the members of the team

5d54d85c83b22e1edaf217db93a43124.gif

this GIF is perfect, it truly conveys Ferrero's point, in so many ways
 

Lew II

G.O.A.T.
Interesting opinion from Ferrero. Anyway there are still billions of people in the world who are poor. It's not like the world has suddenly become rich and spoiled in the last 10 years.

And in tennis only a bunch of players earn a lot. No one ourside top100 can be considered rich.
 
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blablavla

G.O.A.T.
Given that Murray is the only player outside the Big 3 to notch up double digit victories against Fed (the H2H is 14-11 to Fed) despite his "lack of elite talent" it kinda indicates that Fed didn't get to stomp Murray quite as much as some people like to suppose.

good luck in "fighting" the TTW logic :)
 

Lew II

G.O.A.T.
21th highest paid footballer (Haaland) earns 10,000,000€ a year
21th highest paid tennis player (Auger-Aliassime) earned 1,300,000€ in 2019

50th highest paid footballer in 2011 (L. Diarra) earned 5,000,000€
50th highest paid tennis player in 2011 (exactly Juan Carlos Ferrero LOL) earned 400,000€

And the gap gets bigger and bigger as we get to lower ranked players. The #1000 footballer is a millionaire while the #1000 tennis player is not even a pro.

If tennis players are spoiled then what are footballers?
 
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ForehandCross

G.O.A.T.
Interesting opinion from Ferrero. Anyway there are still billions of people in the world who are poor. It's not like the world has suddenly become rich and spoiled in the last 10 years.

And in tennis only a bunch of players earn a lot. No one ourside top100 can be considered rich.

Ferrero was with the wrong guy. It's more about personal character than Money and Social Media.

Dominic trains harder than anybody even Nadal. He has enough popularity in his home country and is among the most recognisable tennis, does vlogs time to time and is active on insta too.

Yet he works harder than anybody. Zverev might be more popular due to being ATP's chosen one, but it's not like Dominic has significantly lesser money.

Zverev is just too arrogant. Too bad arrogance is the prerequisite for success in a highly competitive sport.
 

zagor

Bionic Poster
It's not just about training regimes, it's also short attention spans and inability to focus due to overexposure to social media. It's detrimental in a sport like tennis at the highest levels, it's often a few big points that decide the match.
 

Dolgopolov85

G.O.A.T.
21th highest paid footballer (Haaland) earns 10,000,000€ a year
21th highest paid tennis player (Auger-Aliassime) earned 1,300,000€ in 2019

50th highest paid footballer in 2011 (L. Diarra) earned 5,000,000€
50th highest paid tennis player in 2011 (exactly Juan Carlos Ferrero LOL) earned 400,000€

And the gap gets bigger and bigger as we get to lower ranked players. The #1000 footballer is a millionaire while the #1000 tennis player is not even a pro.

If tennis players are spoiled then what are footballers?
For once, if not the only time, I agree with you.
 
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