Tennis Wimbledon Women's Singles -Roland-Garros

John McEnroe gives verdict on Serena Williams and Maja Chwalinska Wimbledon wildcard debate after Polish star's shock French Open run

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John McEnroe believes Wimbledon should prioritise handing singles wildcards to both Maja Chwalinska and Serena Williams, should the latter request one, later this month.

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Chwalinska stunned the women's field to advance to oust several seeded players en route to reaching the French Open final as a qualifier, before suffering straight-sets defeat to world No. 8 Mirra Andreeva on Saturday.

Despite her incredible run, which is set to see Chwalinska rise from world No. 114 to No. 21, she is not guaranteed a spot in the Wimbledon main draw, with the grass major using a cut-off date to decide automatic qualification.

As such, the Pole is listed 14th on the Wimbledon's 'alternates' entry list, and will be vying for one of eight women's wildcards in order to avoid qualification. They could be hotly-contested.

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Wildcards are traditionally given to players who have performed well previously at the tournament or home players. British players comprised seven of the eight wildcard spots last year, alongside two-time champion Petra Kvitova.

And with Serena Williams having announced her return to tennis aged 44, starting with doubles at Queen's and in Berlin in the coming weeks, uncertainty looms over who will receive automatic qualification at the All England Club.

TNT Sports expert McEnroe feels it is vital that Chwalinska receives a wildcard and also Williams, should she wish to compete in the singles draw for the tournament she won seven times during her career.

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"I would give it to both of them," McEnroe said. "You've got someone that's come out of nowhere, at least for me, and she qualifies and gets to the final of a major, that's amazing.

"But Serena Williams is the GOAT of tennis. I don't think she's coming back just to play doubles. I'm not sure exactly what her plans are. From seeing Serena in the past, it doesn't seem like she's going to come back and not think she could win, win maybe the whole tournament.

"If I was Wimbledon, I think they get eight wildcards, they would certainly be two of the eight for me."

The announcement of Williams' comeback coincided with a chaotic French Open which saw top seeds tumbling to unlikely opposition.

McEnroe suggested the 23-time Grand Slam champion will believe she can seriously challenge those at the top of the women's game.

"I think we all know she'd look at this [favourably], maybe that's part of why she was like, 'Wait a minute, I'm 44 but I could still beat everybody,'" McEnroe said.

"I guess that's what she's thinking. She certainly doesn't need the money and she's got a lot of things going on in her life which will keep her busy, so there's some belief she can do this.

"She doesn't need to prove anything but if she wants to, I guess if this is a way to motivate herself. It's good for tennis."

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'Old-school tennis'

McEnroe heaped praise on Chwalinska, whose efforts towards an historic French Open title fell just short with defeat to Andreeva on Saturday.

The American said Chwalinska's impressive variety and point construction reminded him of "old-school tennis" and that it was a nice change of pace from the baseline ball-striking battles regularly seen in the modern game.

"I like the way she plays," McEnroe said. "It's like old-school tennis. There's a strategy. Nowadays, it seems like everyone is trying to hit the ball so hard.

"She's like a throwback to when I played. It's beautiful to watch. It's difficult for her. She's not very tall, so it'll be tougher to do that on a hard court.

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"It'll be interesting now. All of a sudden, she's ranked around 20 in the world, other players will think this is someone I want to beat."

McEnroe added: "I think it's beautiful. I like to watch someone mix it up, keep someone off-balance and uncomfortable.

"That's what you try to do on a tennis court. If you're not big and can't blow someone off with your serve, or you don't hit the ball as hard as these other players, you have to find the strategy to win, and she was able to go through qualifying and win six more matches.

"That's pretty amazing. She should be very proud of herself and hopefully this will inspire her to figure out how to be successful on the other surfaces too."

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