IT’S OVER 30 years since he last won a Grand Slam title but John McEnroe believes he still has what it takes to mix it with the leading player in women’s tennis.
McEnroe, who’s now 56, was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday night and the conversation inevitably turned to the most dominant player in the sport this year — Serena Williams.
The start of the US Open is just over a week away and Williams will be aiming to complete a rare calendar year Grand Slam, having already emerged victorious from the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the French Open so far in 2015.
The 33-year-old is looking to secure her fourth consecutive US Open title, which would take her career tally for Grand Slam wins to an incredible 22.
In McEnroe’s estimation, Williams is the greatest women’s player of all time, but he says that still wouldn’t be enough to beat him even 23 years after he officially retired.
“I believe that I could still take her,” said McEnroe, who added that Donald Trump once offered to make the match happen but it was “not enough”.
“Serena’s got a lot to lose by losing to an old fart like myself. And I’ve got a lot to lose because if I lose to — God forbid — a woman, I’m not allowed in any men’s locker room for the next 15 years, or possibly the end of my life, so that’s part of why it’s intriguing.”
McEnroe to beat Serena Williams at this stage of his life? You cannot be serious…
There’s third world country’s that have better stadiums than we have … (outside Dublin) .. disgrace
@John McK: quantity over quality
@John McK: just because you say it doesn’t make it true. There’s no third world countries with similar populations that have a stadium like Semple Stadium in a town of the size of Thurles.
It’s hard to think that €10 m on Semple would be anything other than a cosmetic patch up. And the stadium is still in Thurles!! On the other hand, the same amount spent on rebuilding the Mackie stand in Limerick would leave Munster with two stadia capable of hosting finals and other major events in cities with decent connections.
They could spend 10m bulldozing the whole town, kip.
Having been at the Munster hurling final last year, I thought the toilets in the Kinnane stand were the most shambolic crush I have ever experienced. Tiny toilet, huge stand and lots of people absolutely wasted. A recipe for disaster.