Carlos Alcaraz was still just 14 when he stunned an established professional in the top 10 for the first time. More than a decade later, Spain’s Davis Cup captain David Ferrer believes the moment already carried echoes of Rafael Nadal.
After Carlos, to complete a career Grand Slam, David Ferrer recalled an extraordinary and previously untold anecdote from their first training session together in 2014. Ferrer said the maturity, intensity and fearlessness displayed by the teenage Alcaraz amazed him and immediately reminded him of a young Rafael Nadal.
In an interview with SER Deportivos Valencia, Ferrer explained how the session came together following the recommendation of former world leader Juan Carlos Ferrer, who was already convinced the Murcian teenager was special.
“When he was 14, I was already in the top 10 and Juan Carlos Ferrero told me: ‘Hey, I’ve signed a player from Murcia and he’s incredibly good. I’m in Jvea, bring him to Jvea and let him train with me.’ I was very demanding in training and I said, ‘Don’t waste time, he’s 14 years old and I want proper practice, I’m in the preseason,'” Ferrer said.
What followed exceeded even these high expectations.
“I was speechless. I remember obviously pushing him, when you’re warming up and you start hitting the ball normally hard, a young player can’t handle it from a pro. Carlos returns the first one, the second one as well and the third one accelerates. And that’s what I wanted.”
“And what do you think it is? It just boggles your mind. He was like Rafa as a child. He was fourteen years old.”
Ferrer then recalled playing a super tie-break with the teenager, a moment that further underlined Alcaraz’s extraordinary level even at this age.
“We played a super tiebreak and I won 10-8 but I think he let me win because I swear he was very close to beating me. I think out of respect,” Ferrer said.
For Ferrer, the similarities to Nadal went beyond shooting and intensity.
“He’s like Rafa, but from a different background. Rafa is Mallorcan, he’s from Murcia. But he’s an incredible guy, not only as a tennis player, but also as a person. Very normal, very natural. Always smiling. Very approachable,” he added.
Alcaraz’s precociousness, first witnessed by Ferrer as a skeptical top 10 pro, has now been consigned to history. By lifting all four Grand Slam titles, the Spaniard became the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam and offers fresh confirmation of Ferrer’s belief that the teenager he faced in training all those years ago was already something special.
– The end
Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
February 3, 2026
