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Comparisons between Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who have won 66 Grand Slams among them, never cease to excite tennis fans. From the question of who is the greatest of all time (GOAT), to their style of play and their individual records, tennis fans keep engaging in regular, often acrimonious, debates about the trio popularly called the 'Big Three'.
Rick Macci - a coach who has trained five World No. 1 players, including the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova - recently shared his thoughts on the three tennis greats' different styles of play. He said that Federer exuded elegance in his game, while Nadal is about brute force. He added, however, that Djokovic is a mix of both on the court.
"Roger made the game look like BALLET. Rafa made the game look like BOXING. Novak makes the game look like a BOXING and BALLET," Macci, a 'Hall of Fame' tennis coach, posted on X (formerly Twitter) tagging Djokovic.
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He also had a piece of advice for Djokovic, the current World No. 1, who owns a record 24 Grand Slams. The renowned coach said that the Serb has to come up with out-of-the-box ideas and be mentally strong in his pursuit of even greater success.
"When you think and train out of the Box when you are Boxed in you will have more choices. @DjokerNole," Macci said in his post.
"Unreal important to always work on your Flexibility. More important work on your Mental Flexibility. @DjokerNole," he added.
Macci praised Federer, who won 20 Grand Slams in his career, for his impressive court coverage and footwork.
"The Smoothest Mover ever to hold the stick when it came to Footwork was delivered by FED EX EXPRESS who could Glide and Slide from Side to Side like a rolling Tide. ROGER THAT," the coach said.
Rafael Nadal will start 2024 at Brisbane International while Novak Djokovic will start at the United Cup
Rafael Nadal, who pulled out of the 2023 French Open and missed the remainder of the season due to a left hip injury that required surgery, will start his 2024 campaign at the Brisbane International, which will begin on December 31.
The 22-time Grand Slam Champion, who is now ranked No. 663, has been working on his recovery. He has been releasing video clips of himself returning to the practice court.
Novak Djokovic will be back in action at the United Cup, an international competition that will see the top nations in the world go head-to-head in Perth and Sydney, to kick-start the 2024 season. The United Cup starts on December 29.
The top-ranked Serb will then head to the Australian Open, where he is the defending champion. Djokovic won three out of the four Grand Slams in 2023. While Djokovic's performance propelled him past Nadal in the Grand Slam sweepstakes, he fell just short of a Calendar Slam, a rare feat that involves winning all the four Majors in the same year. He lost the Wimbledon final to Spain's Carlos Alcaraz.
The Serb was just one match away from the feat in 2021 too, after sweeping through the first three Majors during the year. But he lost the US Open final to Russia's Daniil Medvedev.
