Carlos Alcaraz was left in tears by his former coach Kiko Navarro following an early exit from a youth tournament. Alcaraz has made quite the name for himself in the world of professional tennis - third in the ATP rankings with four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic final on his resume. However, the 21-year-old Spaniard has had to work for his glory over the years, with Navarro sacrificing a lot to help mould him into a champion from an early age.
As expected, it wasn't always smooth sailing between Alcaraz and his former coach, with Navarro recalling a moment in which he was left irate at a 13-year-old Alcaraz following the under-14 Memorial Giuseppe Cassani tournament in Pavia, Italy. As per Relevo, Navarro explained: "It was my biggest telling off with him. I always joke that if there had been a camera on the train, his father might have fired me when I got back to Murcia.
"Later, I regretted it because I am a very close and affectionate person. Especially with him. But I think it's very good to be demanding and affectionate and close afterwards. Especially in a world like this. It might seem like I'm very tough, but I'm not.".
While Alcaraz beat Enrico Wood in the first round of the tournament 6-0, 6-3, he bowed out to Francesco Maestrelli in the second. And while Navarro wasn't too bothered by the 6-2, 6-4 loss in the grand scheme of things, he was left irate by the attitude of Alcaraz headed into the fixture.
He continued: "On the first day, he played well and won. I knew from the level of kids there that Carlitos could do well. I'm a born winner. Once I'm in a tournament, I want to win it, no matter how uncomfortable it is. Or at least give it my all. He wasn't obliged to win because he was Carlitos Alcaraz. Back then, he was still nobody. But he was obliged to give it his all.
