Alejandro Davidovich, the journey from “wild colt” to thoroughbred

The endless academy of Spanish tennis curled another curl this year with the coronation of the youngest world No. 1 in history, Carlos Alcarazat 19 years old and an unparalleled relay in the last stage of the career of Rafael Nadalwhich is the absolute record of 21 titles of grand slam sums up the greatness of his work.

Nadal and Alcaraz are two examples of previous champions, but on the circuit there are other players who have to fight hard to establish themselves among the elite. In that sense, Alexander Davidovich This is a very interesting case because it has to calm down a characteristic of the volcano in order not to stay on the road.

Jorge Aguirre, his trainer since he was 11 years old, explained the complex journey he had to tame “a wild colt” to bring out his thoroughbred genes. “I’m crazy as a chota”, Davidovich himself once said between laughs.

The 23-year-old from Malaga first gained fame when he was the junior champion of Wimbledon in 2017. Since then, he has improved his ranking every year and in 2022 he finishes as world number 31 after a season in which his victory over Novak Djokovic and the end of Monte Carlo Masters 1,000 They remembered their full potential.

“It was a show of confidence for him that he could look anyone in the eye. With Djokovic he was able to play and compete with the freest and freshest mind. Winning the third set was a show of power and personal security of what he’s capable of doing on a track. It’s a long process, but I’ve seen a more stable Álex”, affirms Aguirre.

“Álex is a wild colt, ever since he was a boy with a rather complex character. He is not the typical quiet and obedient 12-year-old boy. He has always respected me, but he is a rebellious boy which is quite anti-establishment. I saw and saw the strength of a top tennis player inside, that anger helped him sometimes, but in the end, anger has an expiration date. I always found him ready to work, the hardest the thing is how to help his personality better manage that anger that will only serve him if he can handle it well”, explained Aguirre.

“He is a wild colt, but he asks to be tamed because he wants to do things right, he has a winning gene. Now the job is easier because he has a better predisposition and, like him, he makes mistakes , he corrects quickly. . He wants to be a complete player in all aspects and not an intermittent one. We are looking for it to have more and more continuity”, said the coach.

“My relationship with him has always been very good because there is a lot of mutual respect. I have a job to tell him things regardless of whether it will make him happy or bad. That is important and he is angry, but it takes half an hour. Like me, I don’t mind having fights with him, deep down when they happen, he appreciates that I tell him things, which helps him to continue growing”, explains Jorge, remembering his beginnings with Alejandro.

“I saw him for the first time at the age of eight at my club Fuengirola (Racket Club) and played on another level. At 11 I followed him a little. He plays very well, but he is very unstable, he will last 10 minutes, he will get angry, he will throw the racket. I used to bring the Spanish champion for children, Carlos Divar, and I thought, ‘What a great couple this is!’ I spoke with Álex’s mother and that year he was a juvenile champion”, recalled the coach, who soon understood the volcanic nature of his young player.

“In the semifinals of Nike Tour in Sevillestarted amazingly against Alex De Minaur, an anthological tennis. He was 4-0, but he missed a first ball and started saying: ‘I had such a good game!’ He lost 7-5 and 7-5. That day I said to myself: ‘Jorgito, we have a job here.’ He played a lot and two mistakes changed his perspective,” Aguirre recalled.

“Getting Álex was a personal challenge, I was ready for it. Having that boy with a devilish midpoint and getting a good player from there was a strong challenge, and I was up for it. Two months and half after that match against De Miñaur, champion of Álex Spain fry”, said the technician.

“Tennis is perceptions and he’ll be very nervous, he’ll be very angry, it’s a deeper issue, he’s very panicked about making his mistakes. He’s a panicked kid who doesn’t do well reaction. That management needs to be worked on,” he admitted.

“When everything is balanced, it’s easier to work. If you see one line and he goes to another, it’s double the work because you also have to accept the depth of the player and gradually lead him. It’s not a matter of imposing, you have to go playing so that his personality can also see that there is an effective plan. Continuous game. I respect his personality, his essence and make him see where he is wrong. Trial and error,” compares Aguirre.

“All this takes away more energy. With his personality, it is more difficult to achieve what he has achieved, so I give a lot of value to what he has achieved. My feeling and his pride. I don’t You know how many children with difficulties reach this level. That speaks highly of him”, Jorge congratulated himself.

“If when I was against everyone, I always thought Álex was a top player, now that the shadows are starting to disappear I will not put a ceiling on him or see a ceiling on him. The better player he is, everything will go in proportion, top-20, top-10. We have to go for the maximum, he has a lot of room for improvement and he will tell us the future. Right now he has no ceiling. He is not the most regular tennis player, but he is improving every time and his average level is higher. Let’s see where we are in a year, maybe higher than we think,” observed Aguirre.

“Someone a little anarchic like him, lack of planning. He is very complete when he plays, but when he makes a mistake, he has nothing to touch. He is very good at everything, but when he is disorganized he is terrible. In everything. He plays well in defense, attack, counterattack, serve, return, but if it is scattered it will leak everywhere. It is about improving all aspects of the game and covering the energy leaks so that all its energy revolves around both channels. In everything there is at least a 20% improvement”, Davidovich’s coach calculated.

“For all this to last, we need a better week, lift the difficult games. There is still time for this to be his ‘modus operandi’. Monte Carlo was a very powerful reinforcement to do things better. We don’t have to do anything different, but continue that line. The more games he plays, the faster his self-convincing will be and what has to come will come,” concluded Aguirre.