I remember when Chrissy Everett was the #1 ranked female tennis player and an interviewer asked her if she thought she could beat some of the top men and she laughed and said, my brother who is a very good club player has never lost a set to me.
Dmitry Tursonov is currently ranked 713 in the world. He's won 7 titles on the ATP tour and won the Davis Cup for Russia. I can't see Serena beating him.
It's not just the serve. The men use heavier balls, put more rpm's with the same pace (so the ball has far more energy) and she wouldn't get almost any free points on serve, let alone get her racquet on a return. The whole thing is a joke.
I think there is one thing Mac said that went over everybody's heads. Connors (all-time great player in his own right) beat Martina (all time great women's player, probably best ever after Serena) with ONE serve AND gave Martina the alleys (she had the whole court while he had the standard lines). That is unreal if that actually happened and it really should prove to everyone just how big the gap between men's and women's tennis is.
I've forgotten how nice John is. I love listening when he is commenting on a tennis game. I love hearing him when he is talking about... well about anything. As they say he is very likable.
Great interview, so glad they played the tape. How could the woman expect him to say Serena is the best tennis player ever? Have a lot of respect for John.
Yeah. The female interviewer, right? She has never watched tennis in her life, if she thinks that is a good question AND keeps pressing the point on follow-up.
Jack: I don't watch tennis, so my strongest memories of McEnroe are from back when he played on the tour, where he was brilliant but a touch abrasive and confrontational. Always liked and admired him, but wasn't sure I'd want to have a beer with him. Seemed like a cool guy in the interview.
Opening comments from DP- between McEnroe's playing career and his announcing, he is personally responsible with bringing millions of people into fans of the game. He is a titan in tennis history.
No. 203 sweeps Williams At the height of the Williams boom in 1998, an unofficial game took place in Australia after Serena and Venus claimed that no male player outside the top 200 could beat them. Up stepped a German known as Karsten Braasch who was ranked 203rd in the world and after first beating Serena 6-1, he then disposed of Venus 6-2. "I didn't know it would be that difficult. I played shots that would have been winners on the women's circuit and he got to them very easily," said Serena. "They wouldn't have had a chance against anyone inside the top 500 because today I played like someone ranked 600th to keep it fun," was Braasch's assessment
How I love this man. His importance for tennis on different levels is huge. When Johnny and Mats Wilander releases "Sound of Silence" together, I'll be in heaven.
Still my favorite player to this day. And no, Serena wouldn't be in the Top 700 if she played full time on the Men's circuit. Everybody knows that who's honest.
McEnroe is telling the truth . He has been very classy. Women will compete eventually in non athletic sports like bowling or golf. Serena herself said Murray would beat her . THE NPR HOST IS TRASH.
I don't think you meant golf. Women cannot compete in men's golf at all. A couple of women at their best #1's in the World could not make the cut at regular tour events. They are playing from 1000 yards less, they cannot hit the ball anywhere near what men do. High school boys would dominate on the LPGA tour. I'm not trying to belittle women's golf these are just facts.
No they can't compete in golf, bowling, table tennis or any other sport. Like for real why are there separated leagues for men and women table tennis!??
John McEnroe is the a great guy and a huge inspiration and what he said about Serena Williams was the absolute truth and all those people who told him to apologize to her are morons. And honestly 700 may be a bit generous for her.
Even despite the awesome record of guys like Sampras, Federer, Nadal, Novak....if I had to pick one player to play a game for my life, it'd be McEnroe when he was at his peak. A fantastic competitor.
Senera should tweet an apolgy to John...it was the news reporter who baited John. And Senera should tweet out a angery tweet for the eporter to keep her name out of it so she can take care of her baby.
JOHN IS BEING very generous by saying, Serena could possibly beat a top male at 750 in the world(if the conditions were right). He is correct saying he "might" not be able to beat her now at almost 60 years old....and that there are a handful of lower level male players that would not handle a big time event. But seriously!..... virtually any man with pro points would win. In fact, I would bet anything Serena would struggle to win against the top 10 or so boys in high school in the USA....forget her winning against top 10 male juniors in the world. My guess is John could beat still beat Serena.
This whole thing is nonsense. She would get her ass handed to her by the top 700 guys. Women players are not as strong or quick as men. They only play the best two sets out of three...men play the best 3 out of 5. The host was trying to make it a racial/gender thing. Serena's response was BS. She should have remained quiet. McEnroe speaks the truth in the age of political correctness.
"1998: Karsten Braasch vs. Serena and Venus Williams, a rivalry in the "gender war" at the 1998 Australian Open, during which Karsten Braasch took up the challenge of the Williams sisters who said they could beat any tennis player classified beyond the top two hundred of the ATP rankings. Braasch, ranked 203rd at the time, verified their announcements. The matches were played on court number 12 in Melbourne Park. The tennis player first beat Serena 6: 1, leading 5: 0, and then Venus"
I'm really really glad he didnt back down. The interviewer was a shit stirrer because he gave her props. They twisted it in context. I played competitive tennis in USTA ranked tournaments and the best girls couldnt beat the best boys. I understand equality and people hate gender bias but there is only one way to prove it. Let Serena do a leg on the Mens tour French to Wimbledon to US Open...and witness the carnage. She probably wouldnt get out of the 1st round at any of the majors.
I've been around tennis my whole life and played at the Jr., H.S. and College level and am still an A level Club player and I believe Serena would have an extremely hard time beating any of the Boy's H.S. State Champions in America.
jared kaiser I totally agree with you Jared! That woman is an embarrassment to me and other women who actually have a brain. I can't believe the ignorance of all these people who got offended. Her comments to John were absolutely crazy and sexist. John simply responded by telling the truth. That woman has no clue what the heck she was talking about. Absolutely ridiculous.. & John has handled everything so well! He's a really great guy!!!
This kills me that people had an issue with what he said. You have high school and college players (non-professional) who would beat her. And I love Serena. Flo-Jo has held the record in the 100 and 200 for 33 years. And she would not qualify for some high-school finals against the boys. I also believe WNBA teams would lose to some high-school boys teams. It is not an insult. It’s just a fact. With all that being said, I enjoy watching some women’s sports more than the guys.
Michell Wie tried playing on the mens' pro golf tour, which is way easier to do than a pro woman tennis player going up against a man on the mens' tour, and it didn't work out very good for Wie.
There was talk like this during Wimbledon 1984 in which people asked McEnroe if Martina Navratilova could beat a male player on the tour (or maybe beat him) and he said that was ridiculous. It was a different conversation then. Now there is political correctness to consider and other stuff.
If journalists get this wrong when it's so obvious, they shouldn't be journalists. Women can compete with men in anything demandingly physical? Of course not. They have other areas to excel in.
When I was 17 and in school, the girls Netball team challenged us boys to a Netball game. We had some training sessions and the girls looked pretty good, fluid and accurate shooting. In the game they didn’t score against us as our whole team averaged 6ft tall and we were so much quicker and stronger than them
If he was only 40 he'd be able to beat Serena he's nearly 60 years old now of course he wouldn't beat her and if he could then forget 700 she shouldn't be ranked
Of course he would demolish her at 40 years of age, but if he trained a bit, with true equal playing rules, he would demolish her at his present age of 63 years old!!
The current Women's 100 meter world record is 10.5. The current world's top 200 men's sprinters all beat that time every race. It's not something you have to be theoretical about. If tennis tracks sprinting ...
It sounds like the women who seem offended by your comments are those who don't actually understand tennis. I'm a woman who plays tennis AND a feminist and have no issue with what McEnroe said at all. I think Serena is amazing too.
Could you imagine if Nadal, Federer or Djokovic ever transitioned to female and played on the women's tour??? It will happen someday with someone like Dr. Renee Richards decades ago---but they weren't that good. Imagine if it happens with a really good player? They would win the grand slam every year. McEnroe is right about what would happen if Serena or any of the top women players ever played the top men players. It's a stupid topic anyway that a leftist from NPR had to bring up of course.
Has Serena ever been tested for PEDs? McEnroe has more class than Serena ever dreamed of having. She should not be telling him to keep her out of his comments, especially when he is asked a question.
How many times is SW gonna use the fact about being pregnant or having a daughter regards to any damned thing having to do with Tennis ? She isnt the only woman to have a child....she is and acts like a spoiled baby when things dont go her way...get over yourself...
UFC tried to run the crap that Rhonda Rousey could beat any man or woman her size.They also compared her to Floyd Mayweather JR in a combat fight. Which footwork and punching alone would have her in trouble easily.
This is great bar conversation....but on the women's side excluding Serena most of the woman tank against Serena after a set there is a little more fight on the mens and Mac brought up best of 5 sets....so u have to win 3 sets to win a match and that just makes for more fight in the player and more chance of a come back when a player is down a set...I don't know why great players always drop the first set before they wake up and win a match....I'm gonna give y'all a fix....u want to see who is the best....do this if u get time....play a time frame 40 minutes or an hour go game for game switching serve and just total the games.....switch sides if necessary and bring in any players u want change them....don't forget the average male serve is 50 mph faster then on the women side for starters....so good luck oh yeah let the players put up there own money if they want or better let the press put up the money its a right off anyway....hah
Whole thing is about sexism. Even though you cant put exact number on how serena will do against men its the fact that he compared her to men. When women r screaming for equal rights and equal pay. Why would she take offense to john comparing her to men?? She knows women cant beat men in tennis or most of the sports. Sports is not the place for women to ask for equal rights! Maybe in shooting,archery,curling.
If anyone has been to a boxing match, like an event where the undercard leads to one of the major boxing titles....you'll immediately know that if a woman was to walk in that ring to fight a man in her weight division, she would be carried out in a stretcher to the ER for emergency medical procedures to save her life. The sound of a man hitting another at this level, that alone is a shocking experience. I do believe women are superior to men in some gymnastic events though...the balance beam (obviously) and maybe the uneven bars, which men don't even do.
I think that tennis is the game that gets the men vs women comparison because tennis fans watch both genders. It is proven that basketball fans don’t really watch the WNBA. So in my opinion the fact that women’s tennis is a good watch sometimes makes people exaggerate what they are capable of. That being said who gives a shit what man Serena can beat honestly, I don’t think it takes anything away from what she has done. McEnroe is correct for not backing down but it is obvious it isn’t his favorite thing to talk about either.
