‘Never rule out the heart of a champion’ – famed coach thinks Serena Williams can still win Slams

Serena Williams’ former coach Rick Macci believes she can still win Grand Slam titles and said he “would never ever bet against Serena due to her championship DNA.”

Serena Williams will be looking to win a record-extending 24th Grand Slam title this year, but has announced that she will miss the upcoming Australian Open.

After being advised by her medical team to skip the first Grand Slam of the season, a tournament she has won a record seven times, Serena feels she is “not where I need to be physically to compete.”

This will mean Serena has not taken to the court for a total of six months, with her last match coming at Wimbledon back at the end of July. As such, the former World number one now finds herself ranked 41st in the world.

Serena has not won a Grand Slam title since giving birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia.

When asked about Serena’s present form and her chances of a record-breaking 24th Grand Slam title in an interview with Essentially Sports, legendary coach Rick Macci said “obviously it gets tougher as you get older.

“The fear factor from other players isn’t going to be there and maybe even the confidence level from Serena, I call her meek, okay [it] might not be what it is, but once she starts winning a few matches, I’m just telling you, you never count out the heart of a champion.

“She’s a very special lady, you know, and I would not bet against her about anything, but I think it’s all her just playing more and getting a little more confidence and obviously being super fit because with that serve, as long as she’s hitting corners and if that confidence is there she’ll take it earlier, she’ll take more chances, she’ll be inside the baseline.

“Because she can just play through you but there’s a lot of things that have to go right for that but I would never ever, ever bet against Serena because [of] that championship DNA if she gets on a roll, other than herself, no one would like to see her do that more often than me.”

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