American tennis legend John McEnroe said that comparing Iga Swiatek to Serena Williams is “quite a compliment” and she feels the Pole could definitely go down as an all-time great. Swiatek has been dominating the women’s game for the past three months and this type of dominance hasn’t been seen since the prime Williams era.
On Monday, Swiatek saw off Lesia Tsurenko 6-2 6-0 in the French Open first round. Following her latest victory, Swiatek’s stunning winning streak grew to 29. “[Comparing Iga Swiatek with Serena Williams] is quite a compliment,” McEnroe said, via Eurosport.
“Serena didn’t play with this much spin, obviously, she hit a bigger, flatter ball. But if [Iga] has half the career that Serena has had, she would be thrilled. Obviously, she is young, but she’s learning how to, you know, do different things.
She plays with a lot more spin than Serena, to me. But she’s learned to hit and flatten some balls out when she needs to, which is the opposite of Serena. Serena was flat and learned how to use more spin. Champions adapt, you know, that’s the bottom line.
I think that’s the comparison [that my brother, Patrick] is making. [Swiatek] is in a great headspace and she is hopefully going to win eight, 10 majors, who knows? She could win a lot of majors”.
McEnroe: Don’t put too much pressure on Swiatek
Swiatek, who will turn 21 at the end of this month, captured her maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open in 2020.
In less than two weeks, Swiatek could be 21 and a two-time Grand Slam champion. When asked about the number of Grand Slam titles Swiatek could potentially win, McEnroe said expecting the Pole to win around 20 Majors might be a bit too much.
“I wouldn’t want to put that type of pressure on her,” he said. “That is a lot to ask, but I think it’s possible. If I were her, and I hit 10 [majors], I’d be happy. You don’t want to say, ‘oh, she could win 20 Grand Slams’, you know.
That would be quite a lot to ask. If you had to pick a player that could [become a legend] right now, you’d probably pick her, I suppose. But, you know, that’s very unlikely for any player, honestly”.
