Serena Williams' ex-coach makes his feelings known on Carlos Alcaraz vs Grigor Dimitrov Indian Wells showdown

Serena Williams' former coach, Rick Macci, recently analyzed the intriguing encounter between Carlos Alcaraz and Grigor Dimitrov ahead of their 2025 Indian Wells Masters clash on Wednesday (March 12). The American believes that while the Bulgarian's game is well-suited to defeat the second seed, the young Spaniard's experience will not make his outing easy.

Alcaraz will be eager to complete a three-peat in Indian Wells this week following back-to-back titles at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in 2023-24. The four-time Major winner has given a good account of himself in the Californian desert thus far, having spent just two hours and 33 minutes in his victories against Denis Shapovalov and Quentin Halys en route to the fourth round.

Dimitrov, meanwhile, finally found a rich vein of form at the Palm Springs event this week after retiring midway through his outings in Brisbane, Melbourne and Doha at the beginning of the year. The World No. 15 began his campaign at this year's Indian Wells Masters with a straight-sets win over Nuno Borges in the second round, before needing just over three hours to outlast Gael Monfils by a scoreline of 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(2).

On Wednesday (March 12), famous coach Rick Macci, who previously offered his services to the Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, and Jennifer Capriati, unpacked the sharp-edged match-up between Carlos Alcaraz and Grigor Dimitrov on his X (formerly Twitter) handle.

The 70-year-old insisted that the former World No. 3 possesses all the tools required to beat his younger opponent, meaning that the latter would have to be at the peak of his powers to get through his challenge.

"Dimitrov knows he can beat Alcaraz. Game matches up. Big forehand. Nasty chip to counterpunch. Pinpoint accuracy on serve. Rock solid sneak in volleys. Feathery dropper and he has been there done that tasting victory. But so has Carlos. Popcorn match extra butter," Rick Macci wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.

Macci is perhaps right in his assertions about Dimitrov's chances considering the 33-year-old has defeated Alcaraz in their last two matches.

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Carlos Alcaraz leads Grigor Dimitrov 3-2 in their head-to-head meetings on ATP Tour

Carlos Alcaraz and Grigor Dimitrov after 2023 Shanghai Masters R16 clash | Image Source: Getty

Carlos Alcaraz started his rivalry with Grigor Dimitrov by winning their first three encounters without dropping a single set at the 2022 Paris Masters, the 2023 Madrid Masters, and the 2023 Queen's Club Championships. However, the Bulgarian began challenging the Spaniard soon afterward as he came from a set down to beat the then-World No. 2 in the fourth round of the 2023 Shanghai Masters in three sets.

Dimitrov then dominated their most recent meeting in the quarterfinals of the Miami Masters last year, dropping just six games to beat Alcaraz en route to a runner-up finish at the Florida-based event.