Arnaud Clement has identified Carlos Alcaraz’s “problem” and suggested both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer could help the Spaniard in a coaching capacity.
The former world No 10 believes the prospect of Alcaraz making such a bold coaching move depends on his desire to target the all-time Grand Slam record.
Alcaraz is currently coached by former world No 1 and French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero, who he joined forces with at the age of 15.
Ferrero has played an integral role in Alcaraz’s development, as well as the huge success his 21-year-old compatriot has already achieved.
Alcaraz has won 16 ATP singles titles, including four Grand Slams — two of which came this year at the French Open and Wimbledon.
The Murcian ended the 2024 season as the world No 3 behind Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev after winning four tournaments.
Speaking to Eurosport, Clement, a finalist at the 2001 Australian Open, assessed the potential impact that a Nadal-Federer coaching dream team could have on Alcaraz
Alcaraz knows how to do everything: his problem is knowing what to do at what time. Nadal and Federer could obviously help him in this regard,” the Frenchman said.
“Sometimes, it’s very clear in his head and he’s the embodiment of accuracy, at other times, he makes mistakes. And that often coincides with a lack of freshness, there’s work to be done on the programming at the exhibition level for example.
“It depends on what he wants: to go for the greatest number of Grand Slam victories? He’s off to a good start, but it’s a long-term goal.”
Clement also argued Federer could be a successful coach for Stefanos Tsitsipas as he could improve the Greek’s single-handed backhand.
“Federer had one of the best one-handed backhands in the history of the game and Tsitsipas has one of the worst,” he asserted.
“What stands out to me is how little progress there is in this area for the Greek. This is the most important area in which he can progress in tennis, both in the exchange and in return.
“All this work on varying the one-handed backhand is fundamental. Tsitsipas is blocked from this point of view at the moment.