Rick Macci, the celebrated American coach who has worked with some of the sport's most iconic names, has made a bold claim regarding Carlos Alcaraz's tennis abilities.
Alcaraz has shot to prominence as tennis' newest superstar after winning two Grand Slams, four Masters 1000 titles, and touching the World No. 1 ranking while still being only 20. Recently, the Spaniard broke the Top 20 all-time list in career earnings, having amassed over $20 million.
Macci, who has previously coached at least five former No. 1s, including 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, highlighted Alcaraz's unpredictability on a tennis court as something we have never seen before, and opined that his drop shot is from "outer space."
The 68-year-old was speaking on an episode of Match Point Canada podcast where he drew parallels from some of the sport's greats and stated that Alcaraz is an amalgam of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andre Agassi all infused in one.
"Alcaraz, we've never seen anything like this. We've never seen it. He is a combination of, I tell everybody, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Agassi all wrapped in one. He has make-up speed like no other. Once he hits that other gear his turbo speed is amazing."
"He has a drop shot from outer space. He has missed more drop shots as a kid than anybody who has played tennis because he has tried more - and whoever coached him as a kid would not discourage that."
The Murcia native has finished the 2023 season with six titles and the World No. 2 ranking attached to his name. It's been another phenomenal season despite coming up short in his quest to unseat Novak Djokovic from the top of the standings. However, Macci asserted that he would win an "unreal" number of major titles.
"I think, he is going to get such a bucket of Grand Slams, it's unreal. I feel, in my opinion, he is by far, the leader in the clubhouse."
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