Tennis News • David Ferrer is back!…as a potential coach for Alexander Zverev

By Ricky Dimon

“The Little Beast” is back. No, not as a professional tennis player. As a potential coach of Alexander Zverev.

On the heels of much speculation over the past few days, Zverev confirmed that he is currently working with David Ferrer on a trial basis to see if a player/coach partnership could prosper in the long run.

The 23-year-old posted the following on his Instagram story: “Some good news: I am going through a trial period with David Ferrer on my team. Could not be more excited to get to work can’t  wait for the Tour to be back.”

Zverev’s previous relationship with a former dogged Spanish baseliner did not work out particularly well. Juan Carlos Ferrero coached the current world No. 7 from July of 2017 through January of 2018 before disagreements over practice regimens led to Ferrero’s ouster.

“My team is exactly the same except Juan Carlos left,” Zverev told reporters at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in February of 2018. “We had a kind of a fight in Australia after the Australian Open, which is fine when it involves me and him. I have those kind of arguments [with other team members] and we are still working fine. That argument there involved my whole team and there was a moment where he was very disrespectful towards everybody in my team…. That’s why I had to stop the relationship.”

The German, who also had an up-and-down run with Ivan Lendl, now turns to a former opponent. Zverev and Ferrer squared off against each other eight times on the pro tour, with the youngster holding a 5-3 advantage in the head-to-head series.

Ironically, Ferrer’s last-ever match came against none other than Zverev: a 6-4, 6-1 loss at the 2019 Madrid Masters.

Ricky contributes to10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.

Editors Note • unless Sasha has changed a great deal during the pandemic … we don’t see this team lasting very long. The biggest problem is Sasha does  not have enough respect for the efforts it takes. He runs late constantly and is self absorbed. Funny re • Ferrer. If I’d retired from singles with his game I’d be playing doubles for a few years before I got into a coaching position. 🎾 more money and less stress … (LJ)