'The opposite of Serena' - John McEnroe on key difference between Iga Swiatek and Williams at French Open

Updated 23/05/2022 at 11:37 GMT

“[Comparing Iga Swiatek with Serena Williams] is quite a compliment." John McEnroe gave his fascinating thoughts on the subject of the American tennis legend and current world No. 1 Iga Swiatek with the Pole the overwhelming favourite to triumph for the second time at the French Open this fortnight. Swiatek is currently the dominant force in women's tennis, just as Williams has been for so long.

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Eurosport expert John McEnroe has given his thoughts on the potential comparisons between Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek given the Pole's current dominance of the women's game.

The tennis legend responded to questions linking his fellow American icon to the women's world No. 1 after his brother Patrick made the comparison between their games, and in particular, the spin employed by Swiatek.

Swiatek, who cruised through her opening match at Roland-Garros in straight sets on Monday, extending her winning run to 29 matches, is the beneficiary of a "compliment" in being likened to Williams, according to McEnroe.

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“[Comparing Iga Swiatek with Serena Williams] is quite a compliment," McEnroe said.

"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."

When asked about the potential for Swiatek to become a true legend of the sport, McEnroe attempted to lift the pressure off her shoulders, rather than pile it on.

"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.”

McEnroe also has admitted that he was "surprised" over Emma Raducanu deciding to part ways with her former coach.

Raducanu split with German coach Torben Beltz after just five months and has now worked with three coaches in the past year alone.

Andrew Richardson replaced Nigel Sears after last year's Wimbledon, but despite Raducanu's unexpected success under his stewardship at the US Open, his contract was not renewed.

The British star is now competing without a full-time coach, but McEnroe said he did not always believe in having that within his camp as a player either. He does, though, think it was a surprising move ahead of Roland-Garros.

"I didn't believe in a full-time coach either so it really depends on the player," McEnroe said.

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"These days, it seems every player has a coach and I don't recall who it was when she won the US Open, but I must admit I was surprised they parted ways after she won that.

"It was an incredible shock for her to win that. I'm not sure where she is physically or mentally right now.

"She obviously did something spectacular at the US Open and you would try to, in some ways, replicate what she was feeling at that time to allow her to play freely.

"That's a lot harder now because the expectations are a lot higher so she has to find a group that can get her comfortable and allow her to train in a way that she understands is good for her and be able to go on the court and feel some type of joy and happiness playing.

"That's the trick. But there is no way to do that or understand how to do that unless you understand the person. That's the job of a coach or people around her to get her to a place to do what she does best."