Serena Williams’ former coach Rick Macci has predicted that Carlos Alcaraz can win any tournament he plays but not all the time. Macci reckons if Alcaraz can remain injury-free in his career, he can go places that no other male tennis player has done in history.
Alcaraz, only 20, has shown all the skills to go a long way in his career. The young Spaniard has already won two Majors – the US Open and Wimbledon.
Alcaraz recently defeated Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final in a five-set thrilling contest to claim his maiden grass-court major title. This was the Serbian’s first loss at SW19 since 2017 as Alcaraz created history.
Rick Macci told Tennis Infinity in an exclusive interview, “So at the end of the day, I think Alcaraz can win any tournament that he plays. But that being said, no one’s going undefeated. No one’s gonna win all the time. He’s gonna lose. Anything’s possible, especially in men’s tennis, because if someone’s serving big and hitting the corners, you get into a tiebreaker, anything’s possible.”
“But he’s the leader in the clubhouse. And barring injury, this guy can go places that maybe we’ve never seen in the game of tennis.”
In fact, Alcaraz’s most potent surface is clay but Macci feels the Spaniard can be unstoppable on hard courts.
“Anything’s possible with this guy. Even I think his best surface might be hard court simply because of his movement. The way he can stop and start, and he can slide, his movement is even better, in my opinion, on hard court. That being said, the serve, even though it’s effective on a hard court, on grass, people can hurt him more.”
Macci lauded Alcaraz for his aggressive approach while playing on hard courts and feels the Spaniard is at home while playing on hard courts.
“You know, you can hurt people more on grass. So the hard court, it’s gonna be a little easier, generally speaking, the return. And I think when he plays on the hard court, from what I’ve seen, he’s a little more authoritative, and he’s a little more aggressive. He’ll take your second serve and come in.
“But more importantly, the guy’s a Broadway performer. You know, he loves the pressure. He loses 20-ball rallies and smiles. He has gratitude. His two best assets, in my opinion, are his mom and dad. You know, the way he’s wired.”
Carlos Alcaraz will face Ben Shelton in the round of 32 in the Canadian Open.
