Eurosport tennis expert John McEnroe is absolutely impressed by Iga Swiatek’s clay-court abilities as he thinks the Pole slides better on clay than even Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams. Swiatek, who will turn 21 early next week, became a Grand Slam champion at the French Open in 2020.
Now, she is bidding to win her second Grand Slam title at the same place where she captured her first Major glory. “She is an incredible athlete. I don’t think I have ever seen a player – and this includes Nadal and Djokovic – that move, slide into their backhand, the open stance two-hander and the forehand,” McEnroe said on Eurosport, per Sportskeeda.
“I think Serena hits a bigger ball. I don’t think she slides the way Swiatek does. I’ve never seen anyone so smooth on the clay courts.”
Rafa Nadal ❌
Novak Djokovic ❌
Serena Williams ❌John McEnroe believes Iga Swiatek has mastered a move on clay better than the all-time greats 🙌#RolandGarros | @JohnMcEnroe | @iga_swiatek pic.twitter.com/LqF02tCFcl — Eurosport (@eurosport) May 27, 2022
McEnroe: Swiatek is starting to learn to play on hard as well
Before this season, there was a question mark over Swiatek’s abilities on hard.
Swiatek heard all the talk and went out and massively improved her game on hard. After reaching back-to-back semifinals at the Adelaide International and Australian Open, Swiatek lifted titles in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami.
“She is so full of confidence. I remember, because I do interviews with a lot of journalists and often times I talk to the Polish journalists and they ask me about her and I say wait until she learns to play on hard courts and, she is starting to do that,” McEnroe said.
Swiatek works with a sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz. Swiatek’s mental game is one of the things that the Pole has elevated to another level and many credit Abramowicz for that. “She is someone that has a mental coach travelling with her and thats really helped her. So, you’ll probably see more of the female players do that in the future,” McEnroe said.
