Roger Federer was "poetry in motion," says Serena Williams' ex-coach
Roger Federer's smooth on-court movement is the biggest reason why he is arguably considered the most elegant tennis player ever. Serena Williams' childhood coach Rick Macci also feels the same, calling the Swiss legend one of the best movers in the history of the sport.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have left the 20-time Grand Slam champion behind in the Majors race. However, the majority of the tennis world still believes that Federer has had the biggest impact on the sport.
The 41-year-old Federer ended his 24-year-long professional career at the 2022 Laver Cup.
Rick Macci, an American tennis coach, recently shared a video on social media where he talked about the technical aspects of the Swiss maestro's game.
Calling Roger Federer "poetry in motion," the 68-year-old stated that the eight-time Wimbledon champion's on-court movement was his biggest strength.
"Let's talk a little bit about the great Roger Federer," Macci said. "Poetry in motion, amazing forehand technique, one of the best backhand slices of all time, his serve biomechanically was amazing. But I need everybody to understand that when you see someone at this level, the movement is the wildcard. He's like going on eggshells and floating around the court."
Macci added that without his flawless movement, he wouldn't have become one of the best players of all time.
"He's quicker than quick, very fast because at the end of the day, if he is not moving like that, then you don't see the greatness of one of the greatest players of all time," he added. "The movement is the wildcard. But people don't appreciate this stuff simply because the other guy is moving fast also.
"If you can move and you're set, you can do these amazing strokes and one of the best movers of all time was the great Roger Federer."
Roger Federer to be honored in Halle next month
Roger Federer has won the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle, Germany, a record 10 times, with his first and last triumphs coming in 2003 and 2019, respectively.
As the tournament completes 30 years next month, it has decided to honor its most successful champion by declaring June 21 the 'Roger Federer Day'.
"I'm looking forward to returning to one of my absolute favorite tournaments on the ATP Tour," they said in a press release. "It's an honor to come and help the tournament celebrate this important anniversary in Halle."
This year's event will be graced by defending champion Hubert Hurkacz, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitspas, Jannik Sinner, and Nick Kyrgios.