What will Ferrero add to Alexander Zverev's game?

Take 20-year-old German Alexander Zverev’s amazing talents and add in new coach Juan Carlos Ferrero who is still a few years shy of 40 and has experienced both the highs and lows of elite tennis. It could be the most pleasing merger since chocolate and peanut butter.

Zverev rise in 2017 has been dwarfed by the renaissance of legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, but he has compiled the third-most wins on tour. He defeated Novak Djokovic for his biggest career title in Rome, and recently cracked the Top 10.

It’s a move similar to Nadal’s partnership with Carlos Moya. Ferrero was also a French Open champion (in 2003), and he held the No. 1 ranking for eight weeks. He was one of the talented young players from the Federer generation before injuries slowed him down and led to his retirement in 2012.

Ferrero’s clay-court game translated well to hard courts thanks to his fast feet, relentless stamina and a powerful groundstrokes. Zverev is looking to develop beyond the great family tennis foundation he has already established, and could learn a lot from the hard-working Spaniard.

“In the off season, I did a lot of hard, physical work,” Zverv disclosed to ATP World Tour. “A lot of hard training, you know, try to improve my serve, try to improve my forehand, backhand, all those kinds of things, but you know the physical part was probably one of the hardest things that needed to improve.”

Zverev and Ferrero will be working together in the North American hard courts season beginning next week with the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.

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