Coach Rick Macci believes Venus Williams may have simply gotten to 15-20 Grand Slams if there weren’t Serena Williams and that perhaps now she would have been within the dialog for the best tennis participant of all time.
Earlier than the entire world knew in regards to the Williams sisters, Macci was their childhood coach and the one who’s extensively praised for his or her early growth. When the Williams sisters began working with Macci across the age of 10-11, it did not take lengthy earlier than the phrase unfold out that Macci was working with two generational skills.
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When the Williams sisters began their careers, it did not take lengthy earlier than they began to realize large success – Venus gained her first Grand Slam title at 2000 Wimbledon simply days after turning 20, whereas Serena was 17 when her first Slam win got here on the 1999 US Open.
Shortly after successful her first Slam, Venus shortly bought to 4 Majors after additionally successful the 2000 US Open after which defending her Wimbledon and US Open titles in 2001. Then between 2002 and 2003, Venus made 5 extra Grand Slam finals and misplaced to her sister Serena in every of these finals. A few years later, Venus beat Serena within the 2008 Wimbledon ultimate however once more misplaced to her sister within the 2009 Wimbledon ultimate and 2017 Australian Open ultimate, respectively.
Serena, 42, completed with 23 Grand Slams and is the second on the all-time Grand Slam document record whereas 43-year-old Venus has seven Majors. Venus perhaps hasn’t gained as many Slams as Serena however nonetheless she has managed to beat her sister 12 occasions of their 31 conferences and he or she is the participant with probably the most wins towards the previous 23-time Grand Slam champion.
“I like VW [Venus Williams]. Each her and Serena [Williams] have been like my very own daughters,” Macci informed Sportskeeda.
“Serena is certainly the GOAT, however we gotta keep in mind, in 31 matches, Serena gained 19 and Venus gained 12. Nobody has overwhelmed the best participant of all time greater than Venus Williams. 100% if there was no Serena, who is aware of Venus may very well be sitting there with 15-20 Grand Slams.”
Macci: After Serena Williams, Venus Williams is the second-greatest participant
With seven Grand Slams, Venus Williams is much away from Margaret Court docket’s all-time document of 24 Grand Slams. Additionally, a complete of 11 gamers have gained greater than seven Grand Slams in singles. Nonetheless, Macci is making an argument for Venus to be thought of the second biggest participant in tennis historical past, simply after her sister Serena.
“I believe Venus [Williams], for positive, is without doubt one of the top-5 gamers ever on the feminine facet to carry a racket. I’d go as far, not as a result of I coached her, I believe she is the second biggest participant of all time despite the fact that she does not have all these Grand Slam titles,” Macci claimed.
“I keep in mind she was 14-0 in doubles, taking part in with Serena. So, with no Venus, there may not be a Serena. With out Serena, there is no Venus.”
Macci fears some have forgotten how peak Venus Williams seemed
Between 2000 and 2003, Venus Williams made a complete of 9 Grand Slam finals and that was undoubtedly a really spectacular feat. After the 2003 season, Williams slowed a bit however she has nonetheless managed to make six Grand Slam finals since. Additionally, Williams – now 43 years outdated – was in a position to stay a powerful power in her mid-30s, making Grand Slam finals on the 2017 Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Sadly for Williams, she has battled quite a few damage points and setbacks in recent times, which brought on her to not play a lot and lose usually. After going 3-7 final 12 months, Williams is 0-2 this 12 months after dropping to Noa Hibino in Indian Wells and Diana Shnaider in Miami, respectively.
“Folks sort of neglect, as a result of she remains to be taking part in, how good Venus was. Unbelievable,” Macci mentioned.
“For my part, she modified the entire panorama of ladies’s tennis. She introduced faster, stronger, quicker, extra agile, cellular athlete in tennis. Now you see that it is fairly frequent. However 100%, she would have gained so many extra Grand Slams, however you’ll be able to’t look within the rearview mirror.”
In the course of the interview, Macci additionally made one fascinating assertion as he steered that there was one thing Williams did not need to take heed to. Had that been the case, Macci thinks perhaps she would have gone to have extra success than her sister Serena.
“I believe if she would have caught with the sport plan that I had at age 14, who is aware of she would possibly even have been higher than Serena as a result of she got here to the web in her debut 33 occasions again in 1994 when she bought on the tour,” Macci mentioned.
