Legendary Coach Rick Macci Compares Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to Spiderman and Batman
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Dec 21, 2021 | 7:00 AM EST
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LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 21: (L-R) Andy Murray of Great Britain, Novak Djokovic of Siberia, Roger Federer of Switzerland and Rafael Nadal of Spain attend a ceremony for Carlos Moya’s retirement during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena on November 21, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 21: (L-R) Andy Murray of Great Britain, Novak Djokovic of Siberia, Roger Federer of Switzerland and Rafael Nadal of Spain attend a ceremony for Carlos Moya’s retirement during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena on November 21, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 21: (L-R) Andy Murray of Great Britain, Novak Djokovic of Siberia, Roger Federer of Switzerland and Rafael Nadal of Spain attend a ceremony for Carlos Moya’s retirement during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena on November 21, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Getty
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 21: (L-R) Andy Murray of Great Britain, Novak Djokovic of Siberia, Roger Federer of Switzerland and Rafael Nadal of Spain attend a ceremony for Carlos Moya’s retirement during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena on November 21, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Legendary coach Rick Macci recently found renewed worldwide fame after the release of the movie ‘King Richard.’ Once called the ‘coach of prodigies,’ he talks about his old students who went on to be successful in tennis. He also talks about big players, like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and their mental attributes.
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Not only did Macci coach the Williams sisters, but he also was the coach for Maria Sharapova. Moreover, Andy Roddick and Jennifer Capriati, too, had been his students. All of these players went on to become World No. 1 in their careers.
Macci compares Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, and Djokovic to Spider-Men
In a podcast interview with television and film producer Craig Shapiro, Macci talked about Andy Roddick, first. He mentioned how Roddick always took bad matches or losses in stride.
After that, he immediately moved on to talking about the mental side of tennis, where he mentions the Big Four.
Macci talks about the mental strength of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray have.”What separates great from good?” Macci says. “There’s a lot of people that are good. Great is rare air. That’s a special fraternity. It’s the mental (aspect)- having a crazy work ethic, you gotta have a great footspeed.”
Novak Djokovic likely to go down as the GOAT, but the legendary Rick Macci feels Roger Federer is the best player. https://t.co/z6i4WNNab3
— Tennis365 (@tennis365com) December 14, 2021
“Look at (Roger) Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray– all these guys can move like Spider-Man and Batman!” Macci exclaims as he talks about their footwork.
Macci praises Federer’s serve and forehand
Once again, Macci talks about Roger Federer. Before that, he mentions how footwork and mental fortitude can get a great player through the worst of days. “When you are nervous, you can still run around the court and win matches. So if you don’t have amazing movement you’re not gonna survive those rainy days,” Macci explains.
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Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – July 3, 2021 Switzerland’s Roger Federer in action during his third-round match against Britain’s Cameron Norrie REUTERS/Toby Melville
Talking about Roger Federer and his skills, Macci continues. “Then you get someone like Federer- the forehand, the serve, world-class, it’s crazy!” Additionally, he also talks about Novak Djokovic, who, according to Macci, “has even more bases covered.”
Casper Ruud on his new serve motion: “I was inspired by Roger Federer. He’s not the tallest guy, but he always had a big serve. He rotates with his head and it almost looks like he can see the ball at impact. I looked up to him.”
— Luigi Gatto (@gigicat7_) May 22, 2021
Conversely, he talks about athletic ability without the mental determination to go along with it. For example, he mentions Gael Monfils and Nick Kyrgios. “Just because you’re the best athlete, Kyrgios, Monfils, they don’t have any science. The mind controls the body, that’s the wild card,” Macci finishes.
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