ADVERTISEMENT
Carlos Alcaraz was accompanied by Samuel Lopez in Rotterdam last week and their collaboration brought the Spaniard the first title in indoor conditions of his young career. Carlitos and 'Samu' had worked together before, but Pablo's former coach Carreno Busta officially joined Alcaraz's team earlier this year.
Juan Carlos Ferrero remains the main coach of the 4-time Grand Slam champion, but Lopez will help him a lot during the season and will replace Ferrero in the second-tier tournaments.
The 21-year-old from Murcia's week in Rotterdam did not start in the best way, also due to an annoying cold that forced him to use a nasal strip for the duration of the tournament. After struggling a lot on his debut against Botic van de Zandschulp who had defeated him at the 2024 US Open the former world number 1 raised his level by making the difference especially in the semifinals and finals.
ADVERTISEMENT
Samuel Lopez on Carlitos' progresses
The Spaniard does not play his best tennis in indoor conditions and can improve a lot in the coming years, but it was very important to return to win a title after 4 months. The current world No. 3 had not lifted a trophy since the Beijing ATP 500 last October, when he defeated Jannik Sinner at the end of a memorable final.
Samuel Lopez who will also follow Carlos to Doha next week gave an interview to Eurosport in which he reflected on Alcaraz's progresses.
"Juan Carlos and I told him to always be himself both on and off the pitch. He must not be conditioned by what people say on the outside, he must be above everything" - explained Lopez. "It was one of the goals we set during the off-season and he's succeeding very well. The week in Rotterdam was not easy from several points of view, but we have taken an important step forward. We must continue on this path. Carlitos is still very young and can improve many things" he concluded.
