"My answer is she already did 6 times" - Rick Macci on Serena Williams' chances of winning the US Open 2022
Ever since Serena Williams announced her retirement, her chances of winning the 2022 US Open have been a hot topic of debate. Many are expecting Williams to bring her A-game to the US Open, but her former coach Rick Macci believes she has nothing left to prove, having already won the tournament six times.
The Grand Slam tournament in New York City is set to be Serena Williams' final Major and her last chance to equal Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. The American's form going into the US Open suggests she is not one of the favorites to win the title.
However, Macci believes his former pupil has already achieved enough at the iconic event over the years.
"Everybody is asking can Serena Williams win the US OPEN, My answer is she already did 6 times," he wrote in a post on Twitter.
Everybody is asking can @Serenawilliams win the U.S, OPEN ,My answer is she already did 6 times. 😍
Williams' sixth and latest US Open title came back in 2014. She has reached two finals since then, in 2018 and 2019, but fell short against Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu, respectively. The 23-time Grand Slam champion won her maiden US Open title in 1999, which was also her first Grand Slam singles title. She won the US Open again in 2002 and 2008, before clinching three straight titles from 2012-14.
Serena Williams first met Macci as a nine-year-old when the coach flew down to Compton at the request of her father Richard, who urged him to meet both Serena and Venus. The Williams family later moved to Florida, where both the sisters were coached by Macci.
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"It blew me away" - Rick Macci on the experience of coaching Venus and Serena Williams
Earlier this year, Rick Macci opened up on the experience of coaching the legendary Williams sisters when they were very young. Macci was one of Venus and Serena Williams' first coaches, and the former ATP player was awestruck after witnessing the talent the two players possessed.
He agreed to coach them after his meeting with the Williams family in Compton and the rest, as they say, is history.
"We started playing competitive points and the whole landscape changed," Macci said during an interview with Tennis Channel. "The footwork got better, everything changed once I said game on. And it blew me away. I never saw two little girls try so hard. There was a rage. There was something inside in these kids."
Macci also revealed a particular conversation he had with Richard Williams. Macci told Williams that he had the "next female Michael Jordan" in Venus Williams, to which Richard replied that he had "the next two."
"I have a lot of kids that try hard. But this was different. Right then and there I told Richard, this was about Venus, that 'you got the next female Michael Jordan on your hands'. He puts his arm around me and goes 'No brother man, I got the next two," Macci added.
The Williams sisters are both set to participate in the 2022 US Open, which begins on August 29.
2008 US Open Women's QF:
(4)Serena Williams def. (7)Venus Williams 7-6(6), 7-6(7)
Serena saved a total of 10 set points between the two sets (2 in the 1st, 8 in the 2nd) and would go on to win the title
This is regarded by many to be the best match between the Williams sisters https://t.co/dcKTxoOEqZ